“Players are not going to…”

Building on a success on the Nantes pitch (2-1) in Ligue 1 last Sunday, Olympique de Marseille is preparing to host Auxerre at the Vélodrome this Friday. Before this meeting, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg sent a message to his entire team.

In a grant to The Teamthe Danish defensive midfielder, who has established himself as a key element of OM under the leadership of Roberto De Zerbi, underlined the essential role and responsibility of each player in the squad, whether they are starters or replacements.

“We will be rewarded if we did a good job this year”

“If we have a medal at the end, we will all have the same one. This is why it is important that everyone understands their role in training, in matches, in the locker room. Some players are not going to play too much this season but they have a big responsibility to make the sessions even harder. Because next year, when there is the Champions League, with two matches per week, we will have to be ready and we will be rewarded if we have done the job well this year. It's not easy of course because we all signed for OM to be on the field. But everyone has value, whether you play or not, whether you are first or second goalkeeper,” said the 29-year-old.

Since his arrival at Marseille this summer on loan with an option to buy, the former Tottenham player has played 10 matches, all as a starter, and scored a goal in Marseille colors. With 896 minutes of play accumulated, Højbjerg is the second player most requested by the Italian coach, just behind Gerónimo Rulli, who totals 900 minutes.