OM: Genesio’s future came close to breaking point

Bruno Genesio’s position at Marseille was placed under serious strain during the summer transfer window, although he never threatened to resign. OM president Stéphane Richard said their discussions approached a point where the coach’s continuation could have become difficult.

Richard said he had personally appointed Genesio, as he had also chosen sporting director Grégory Lorenzi. He described the coach as calm, serious, ambitious and intelligent, and said their relationship remained strong despite the tension. Genesio had known about OM’s financial constraints when he arrived, but the scale of the problems exceeded what he had expected.

The pressure increased as Marseille completed the window without signing a player and allowed several senior figures to leave. The future of Igor Paixao became central to the discussions. The Brazilian forward had joined OM the previous summer for €35 million, making him the club’s record signing, and was attracting interest from Sunderland. Richard said he used his influence with owner Franck McCourt to help keep Paixao, with McCourt ultimately approving the necessary effort.

Paixao stayed, easing the situation around Genesio, who had called resignation speculation premature before the second league match against Monaco. He later admitted that he had not imagined Marseille would reach 29 August without a recruit while facing the possible sale of one of its leading players.