In the small world of football, the summer transfer window closed on August 30 at 11 p.m. However, one of the most beautiful moves of the transfer window may have taken place more than two weeks later. On the evening of Sunday, September 15, Olympique de Marseille announced in a short press release that it had “reached an agreement in principle with Adrien Rabiot for the arrival of the French international midfielder at the club”. The whole thing “subject to the outcome of the medical examination”which should take place on Tuesday according to information from The team.
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Since the end of his adventure at Juventus Turin in June, the “Duke” was not under contract with any team, which explains why he was able to join the Phocaean City as a free agent outside the usual schedule. But beyond the administrative dimensions, the arrival in Marseille of one of the key players of the French team (48 caps) is a major surprise. After a Euro spent in the shoes of an undisputed starter, Rabiot had seen his name associated with several of the biggest teams in Europe – Manchester United, AC Milan or Atlético de Madrid among others – and seemed in any case destined to join a team competing in the Champions League.
At 29, he finally lands in a team that is not qualified for any European competition, but which has been drastically strengthened this summer to claim to challenge Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. In addition to the arrival on the bench of the Italian Roberto de Zerbi, the Phocéens have signed the controversial English winger Mason Greenwood, accused of domestic violence across the Channel – before the proceedings were dropped following the withdrawal of his partner’s complaint –, the former Lens striker Elye Wahi as well as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Rabiot should play alongside the Danish international in the midfield of Olympique de Marseille.
Back in Ligue 1, five years later
According to Agence France Presse, the midfielder is expected to sign a two-year contract, at a price of “significant financial sacrifices”He was earning nearly seven million euros net each season at Juventus Turin according to the Italian press, and therefore had to lower his salary expectations and his signing bonus to head to the south-east of France.
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The international’s first steps in his new club will be eagerly awaited, of course. Almost as much as the welcome he will receive from his new supporters, or those of PSG in March 2025 during the “classic” at the Parc des Princes. Because Adrien Rabiot is returning to Ligue 1 by changing sides. Having arrived at PSG in 2010, at the age of 15, he completed his formative years there before establishing himself in the middle of a locker room full of stars to win six French championship titles. The love story finally ended in 2019 following a conflict and a sidelining from the club amid a refusal to extend his contract.
Will this brutal end and his five years in Piedmont with Juventus Turin be enough to make supporters forget Rabiot’s Parisian background? Maybe not. But the left-hander should have no trouble coping with potentially stormy first months, as he has been used to negotiating minor controversies since the beginning of his career. In 2018, he refused to make himself available to Les Bleus after his absence from Didier Deschamps’ first list for the World Cup. Following this decision, he was sidelined for two years from the French team.
The context is not the same, and Rabiot’s level of play coupled with his high-level experience could quickly make him one of the darlings of the Vélodrome. Especially since Olympique de Marseille seems to have a special place in his life as a supporter. “During the classics, he was clearly for OM” This is what his former teammate in the youth team at US Créteil Lusitanos, Abdelhak Benaniba, revealed in 2019 to So Foot.
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