Olympique de Marseille have announced that coach Jorge Sampaoli has quit the club. Former Juventus stopper, Hellas Verona coach and Croatian international Igor Tudor is reportedly the favourite to replace the fiery Argentine at the Orange Vélodrome.
Despite having taken the southern giants to a second-placed Ligue 1 Uber Eats finish and earning a Champions League return, fan favourite Sampaoli has opted to put an end to his time in Marseille. The Argentine was allegedly unhappy with the beginning of the club's summer transfer activities, feeling that he wasn't being given the resources to give a good account of the club on Europe's biggest stage.
"We are satisfied with the path we have taken and everything we have experienced together," read the club's official statement, released on Friday. "But following a long period of reflection, both parties, who are acting in the interests of the Olympique de Marseille project, have agreed to put an end to this stage of our history."
Tudor in the wings
There are a number of candidates for Sampaoli's succession, among them Strasbourg coach Julien Stéphan, but the favourite is reportedly former Hellas Verona coach Igor Tudor.
The 44-year-old Croatian former defender took Verona to a ninth-placed finish in Serie A in 2021-22 but left the club in May with a view to making the step up to a bigger club. A former assistant coach at Juventus, Tudor is reputedly an excellent man manager and motivator who doesn't hold back when he has something to say.
