When Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille face-off, many French football fans call it a big match but the fact of the matter is that it hasn’t been much of a rivalry in recent years.
Dating back to April of 2012, PSG has gone unbeaten against OM with 17 wins and 3 draws in 20 total matchups since and there’s really no end in sight to the domination.
Once the Qatar Sports Investments takeover was finalized in 2011 and world-class players started arriving in the French capital, that essentially ended any hope Marseille had of really competing with their rivals of the north.
What Marseille needs is a wealthy owner of their own who is willing to sink large sums of cash into the club to compete in Ligue 1 and the Champions League. They just may get their wish.
According to L’Equipe, Mourad Boudjellal, a businessman and former president of the Racing Club of Toulon, is attempting a takeover of Marseille from the current owner, Frank McCourt, using funds from private and state-owned Middle Eastern companies.
With Boudjellal leading the charge, France Football details how €700 million will be used to transform Marseille. First of all, McCourt will receive €300 million to sell the club. Then, Boudjellal will use €200 million to pay off the club’s debts. The remaining €200 million will be used in the upcoming transfer window.
The official offer could be made early next week and if it goes through, it will certainly transform the landscape of French football and provide PSG with a competitive title race every season.
What I’ll be interested to see is how the Marseille supporters react to the takeover after years of criticizing PSG for their “oil money.”
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