Roberto de Zerbi has revealed why Marseille abandoned Paul Pogba in January.
The former midfielder of Manchester United is a free agent after leaving Juventus due to mutual permission in November.
The Frenchman remains suspended from football for doping-violations, but is free to return to competitive action next month after the Court of Arbitrage for Sport has reduced its ban of four years to 18 months.
A return to his home country looked at the cards when former Brighton boss De Zerbi showed an interest in bringing Pogba to Marseille, insisting that he would “try to make room” for the World Cup winner.
However, the arrival of a former midfielder of Arsenal closed the book about a movement for Pogba, in which Marseille picks up Ismael Bennacer from AC Milan instead.
The Zerbi hurried to speculate that the arrival of Pogba would have brought unrest in the dressing room, instead cited several reasons why the club did not send a contract offer on the 31-year-old road
'Nobody could change the balance in the dressing room – nobody will destabilize it as long as I am the manager. That was not the problem, “said the Zerbi.
'Pogba is really a great player, but you have to understand where we could use it as soon as it was available to play, in what role and in what position. The more champions we have, the happier I will be. It wasn't.
“It was a general evaluation and maybe it will change, but for now the decision (to not sign Pogba in January) was taken for various reasons.”
The Zerbi has made no secret of his wish to sign 'champions' on Marseille for the Ligue 1 Giants, who did not win a league title, because former club captain Didier Deschamps led them to Glory in 2010.
Pogba seemed to fit into the account of that category of players, after he had lifted four Series A titles and a Europa League during his time with Juventus and Man United -and in the lead role during France's The Famous World Cup victory of 2018.
However, the possibility of signing the former Serie A and Africa Cup of Nations champion Bennacer, 27, was too good to leave.
The Algerian, who has never registered a senior performance in Arsenal, has long gathered the admiration of the Zerbi, who wanted to sign him for Brighton when Moises Caicedo jumped to Chelsea in 2023.
He said: “I wanted him to come when Moises Caicedo went to Chelsea. It is a big transfer for us. His characteristics match our playing style.
“He is a complete player, a top player and another for us. He really wanted to come to Marseille.
'We already spoke about him in August, but we did not succeed in concluding it. When Medhi Benatia told me that there was the opportunity to do it, we stopped the music. '
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