Pjanic discusses Rabiot's choice to sign for OM

During an interview given to 1899 The WeeklyMiralem Pjanic returned to the signing of Adrien Rabiot for OM. The former Lyon player assures that the project presented by Marseille leaders contributed to his arrival: “Adri has played for big clubs and he has just signed for an ambitious club. I can assure you that if he had not been convinced by the project, and the words of Mehdi (Benatia), he would never have signed with OM. He would still have waited and it wouldn't have scared him. Even if it means waiting until the January transfer window to choose the best option. Except that the best option this season was OM. The speeches of Mehdi, the president, the coach weighed in the balance, it is obvious, but once you join a club like OM, a city like Marseille, you can only be happy to play in such an environment, beyond the competitiveness of the team”confided Pjanic.

“Longoria and Mehdi (Benatia) did a huge job”

The current CSKA Moscow player refuses to see Rabiot's arrival in Marseille as a downgrade: “If I’m surprised to see him join Marseille? He was perhaps expecting a different transfer window this summer, but we all noticed that the market was very complicated, football, its economy, are changing… And, in the end, he signed in a very large club, with a great sporting project. OM made a lot of ambitious changes this summer, already through the choice of coach. Longoria and Mehdi (Benatia) have done a huge job to improve the team, bring fresh blood and quality. It was very ambitious. Nobody imagined for a moment at the start of the summer that they were going to bring back this coach and these players. Afterwards, it is the image of what Marseille should be: one of the biggest clubs in France alongside Paris and Lyon. With all these recruits, OM really hit hard. And this must not have gone unnoticed by Adri”he continued.

Adrien Rabiot has so far only played six games in the Olympian tunic. Although called up to the French team, the midfielder will certainly need time to find his rhythm and express his best football.