De Zerbi reveals Man Utd contract offer to Marseille players

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 10 Nov 2024 12:32 GMT
• 3 min read

Roberto De Zerbi showed Marseille's players a blurred-out contract offer from Manchester United ahead of the club's first game of the season, according to reports.

The Italian used a projector to display a deal from the Premier League giants, reports French outlet L'Equipe. He told his players: “This is where I could have been, but I put my passion before money. I came to Marseille for the passion.”

During the summer window, De Zerbi was linked with United after he left Brighton. Erik ten Hag's future was up in the air after a terrible second season at Old Trafford. Eventually, the club stuck with the Dutchman and De Zerbi opted to join Marseille.

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United made Ten Hag the first managerial casualty of the Premier League, less than six months after Ineos activated an extension in his contract. Sporting CP boss and his successor, Ruben Amorim, will start his work on Monday.

De Zerbi reportedly showed his players the contract before Marseille's 5-1 away win at Stade Brest in Ligue 1. After which, the side won five of their next 10 games.

De Zerbi at Marseille

The club have enjoyed a fruitful start to their season but they did lose on Friday night to Auxerre. After the match, De Zerbi made some frank comments about his position at the club. "If I'm the problem, I'm ready to leave. I'll leave without the money, I don't care about all the rest."

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De Zerbi is said to have earlier raged at his side in the dressing room, saying "You humiliated me, you humiliated our club in front of our fans." The 3-1 loss sees Marseille with 20 points from their first 11 league fixtures this season, where they sit in third spot in Ligue 1.

The head coach is under contract with Marseille until June 2027. Mason Greenwood joined Marseille over the summer from United and he is the club's leading scorer this season with eight goals. The club also signed Elye Wahi, Ismaël Kone, and Bamo Meïte among others.

De Zerbi has overseen 11 games as Marseille boss, winning six of them so far. Last season they finished eighth in the league,