Andre Villas-Boas is sacked as Marseille manager after he offered to resign over club signing a player he didn't want

  Andre Villas-Boas has been sacked as Marseille's manager after he offered to resign over the club signing Olivier Ntcham from Celtic against his wishes.  

 

 

In an extraordinary press conference on Tuesday, former Chelsea and Tottenham boss Villas-Boas claimed he 'just wants to leave Marseille' and offered his termination. 

 

“I submitted my resignation saying that I did not agree with the sporting policy,” he said. “I don’t want anything from OM. I don’t want money.”

 

“The board has not answered to me yet. What happened last weekend has nothing to do with it,” he added, referring to Saturday’s incidents in Marseille, where some fans broke into the club’s training centre amid protests against president Jacques-Henri Eyraud.

 

“I’m waiting for an answer, it could be no and then we would continue. I don’t want any money, I just want to leave. We ended the transfer window with a new player [Olivier Ntcham]. He is a player that I had said ‘no’ for.”

 

Rather than allowing Villas-Boas to resign, Marseille decided to sack him in response to the comments. 

 

A statement read: “This protective decision has become inevitable given the recent repetition of actions and attitudes which are seriously damaging to the Marseille institution and its employees who defend it daily.

 

“The comments made today at a press conference with regard to Pablo Longoria, director-general in charge of football, are unacceptable. [The club’s] exceptional investment cannot be called into question and was on the contrary welcomed by all during this winter transfer window marked by an unprecedented crisis."

 

"Any sanctions will be taken against André Villas-Boas following a disciplinary procedure.”

 

The 43-year-old who joined the club in May 2019, after signing a two-year contract was to leave when his contract expires at the end of the season before his sacking.