Mercato: The phone call that convinced him to sign for OM!

Thursday 16th January 2025 01:12 AM

Thibault Morlain
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Journalist

After trying different sports, Thibault turned to a career as an amateur footballer. When making a choice between becoming a professional footballer and a journalist, the qualities tipped the scales to one side. Here he is now in the editorial staff of 10 Sport, after a diploma obtained at the International Institute of Communication in Paris.

In 2020, Pape Gueye left Le Havre to join OM. Initially, the Senegalese midfielder was to head to Watford, but at the last moment, he went back on his word to land in Marseille. Gueye thus joined the squad of André Villas-Boas, who did not fail to give him a call to convince him to come.

Today at Villarreal, Pape Gueye previously played for OM. The Senegalese stayed 4 seasons with the Marseille club, which he joined in the summer of 2020. At the time, he arrived from Havre. While Gueye had to join Watfordit is finally up toABOUT that he committed. Thanks in particular to André Villas-Boas ? The Olympian coach at the time called him and it obviously weighed in the balance.

“Pope, I am going to be the coach of Marseille, I want you on my team”

In an interview given to Footmercato, Pope Gueye returned to his arrival at theABOUT. Evoking in particular the call forAndré Villas-Boasthe Senegalese then announced: “ When we thought about it with my family, I had opportunities in Ligue 1, clubs which guaranteed me to be an indisputable starter. And there is Villas-Boas who was clear with me. He told me “Pope, I’m going to be the coach of Marseille, I want you on my team. But I can’t guarantee you’ll be a starter. I guarantee you will play alongside Kamara, he is the team’s first number 6. You are going to be second. But since there are a lot of matches, there is the Champions League, you will have playing time” ».

“We thought carefully and rushed to Marseille”

« I really liked his honesty. I thought about it, I’m 20 years old, I’m coming out of Ligue 2. If I go to Marseille, I’ll skip several steps. But I will learn, because in training, you learn, with experienced players like Mandanda, Payet. We thought carefully and headed to Marseille », continued Pope Gueye.