Frank McCourt insists Olympique de Marseille is ‘not for sale’ | OneFootball

Frank McCourt has reiterated that Olympique de Marseille is not for sale, as the American owner reflected on his near-decade at the helm of the club in a rare interview with Le Journal du Dimanche, published on Sunday.Having taken over OM in October 2016, McCourt has kept a relatively low profile publicly—especially in recent years—but used a visit to Paris this week to make a forceful intervention into French football’s future, all while outlining his ambitions for the club under Roberto De Zerbi.“The club is not for sale and there must be no ambiguity about that,” said McCourt. “My family is not a private equity firm or a state. The McCourt Group is a family, and we are deeply attached to Marseille.”There has been previous noise about the club being the subject of interest from Saudi Arabia, a rumour which has dwindled over the last two years. ”I think it’s a good investment to invest in French football, maybe OM or Monaco,” said Saudi Official Prince Abdullah Saad Abdulaziz Al Saud back in January 2024. There was reportedly an agreement in place to see Zinédine Zidane become Marseille manager in the case that the club was sold to Saudi Arabia, according to France Bleu Azur. Yet the stance of McCourt has always been clear: the club is not for sale. Marseille will return to the UEFA Champions League for the 2025-2026 season after a two-year absence from the competition, but McCourt says that qualifcation for Europe’s premier competition has to become the norm for the Phocéen club. “It was a stressful season but a good one,” reflected the Boston native on the previous season. “From now on, qualifying for the Champions League must be the norm. Anything less is a failure.”GFFN | George Boxall