L’OM, like many clubs, struggles to keep its best players
Guillaume de Saint Sauveur
Journalist
Graduated from the School of Journalism in Paris. Specializes in football, particularly in the transfer market. Fan of PSG and Stade Francais.
OM, like many clubs, struggles to keep its best players during the transfer window when they are targeted by big foreign clubs. This was the case a few years ago with one of the key players in the Marseille squad, who still gave OM a parting gift: a contract extension to bring in a good transfer fee.
The events date back to the summer of 2008 when OM was preparing to lose one of the biggest talents in their squad. A young attacking midfielder, a product of the club’s academy and a native of Marseille, considered one of the brightest prospects in French football at the time. This player was none other than Samir Nasri, who was transferred from OM to Arsenal for €16 million that summer, despite strong interest from another top French club…
Nasri rejected Lyon
During an interview on the show Zack En Roue Libre in April 2023, Samir Nasri spoke about Lyon’s persistent interest when he decided to leave OM: “They came to see me in Cassis, at the time with Jean-Pierre Bernes. Bernard Lacombe and Remi Garde were there. We talked and be careful, they put forward a better contract offer than Arsenal. But I couldn’t go to Lyon. I am from Marseille, I couldn’t. I agreed to Arsenal and then President Aulas called me and made another offer. When I saw it, I thought ‘wow’. But no, I went to Arsenal,” Nasri revealed.
A beautiful farewell gift
Samir Nasri made a generous gesture to OM by extending his contract a few months before his transfer to bring in a substantial fee for his former club: “I could have signed with Arsenal for free, like many players from the Marseille academy have done, but it was impossible for me. It’s my city, my club, I was formed there, I couldn’t leave for nothing and say ‘goodbye, I used you’. It’s impossible, I had to extend and earn a fee for my club. But I also couldn’t feel used,” Nasri explained.
