Marseille comms chief Cardoze: We made three different offers to Aston Villa signing Kamara | OneFootball

Olympique Marseille comms chief Jacques Cardoze insists they tried everything to keep hold of Boubacar Kamara.

The France U21 midfielder has left OM for Aston Villa, where he will formally move when his Marseille deal expires on June 30.

Cardoze told BFM Marseille: "I think I can say today that there were three contract proposals, with very different formulas, including one where the salary was very very high.

"Kamara was respected by Pablo Longoria, respected by the club.

"What I can reveal to you is that on Christmas Day, Pablo Longoria received a phone call from Kamara's agent promising him that he would not leave free. It has nothing to do with the player, he had a remarkable season until the last minute. But from a club point of view, we are inevitably disappointed.

"During the season, we wondered if a very big club was going to position itself, in which case we might not have had the means to fight. Today, I think we can have regrets."