Olympique Marseille announce De Zerbi agreement | OneFootball

Italian tactician Roberto De Zerbi will be the new coach of Olympique Marseille, as the club announced it has reached an agreement.

He had effectively already been chosen a couple of weeks ago, but the delay is down to issues including the release clause in his contract with Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Ligue 1 side released a statement on Monday evening that ended any remaining doubts.

“Olympique de Marseille has announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with Roberto De Zerbi.

“The club is currently working with all parties involved to formalize the arrival of the Italian coach and his staff on the OM bench, and to prepare for his arrival in Marseille in the coming days.”

De Zerbi is expected to sign a three-year contract, having decided to leave Brighton and Hove Albion over a disagreement in transfer strategy.

It had been reported Brighton were looking for a €6m fee to remunerate them for losing the coach, but that could be negotiated down.

Another overseas experience for De Zerbi

The 45-year-old tactician shot to fame at Benevento in 2017-18, then had success over a three-year period with Sassuolo.

His experience at Shakhtar Donetsk was interrupted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and he joined Brighton in September 2022.

As for Olympique Marseille, they seem to have a weakness for Italian coaches, having recently hired and fired Gennaro Gattuso.