It's been barely 24 hours since Andoni Zubizarreta left the post of sports director of Olympique de Marseille that the names are already circulating to succeed him. The Spaniard, present at the club for 4 years, left OM by mutual agreement, the club announced on Thursday via a press release, and rumors are already going well as to succession.
An Italian journalist claims that his replacement could be an ex from Paris Saint-Germain, in the person of Antero Henrique. The Portuguese, sports director of the capital's club between 2017 and 2019, is indeed on the market. But a source tells Europe 1 that this rumor "is far-fetched", ironically adding: "He had a blank check in Paris, he would have a check in red in Marseille."
Antero Henrique near Manchester United
In reality, the 52-year-old sports director is beyond the current means of OM, which must find a minimum of 60 million euros by June 30 to comply with the rules of financial fair play. Henrique is the one who, among others, worked for the arrivals of Neymar and Kylian Mbappé at PSG, in the summer of 2017, for the tidy sum of 400 million euros. The same source says that the Portuguese would be close to engaging with the English club Manchester United.
Olympique de Marseille is in the midst of a storm, despite the stopping of the championship which validated its second place, synonymous with qualification for the next Champions League. Coach André Villas-Boas, who has been offered a contract extension, according to AFP, would be closer to a start. Last January, he himself said that his future was "intimately linked" to that of Andoni Zubizarreta.