Humiliation, elimination… separation
Reading Time: 2min | Wed. 11.02.26. | 12:15
Marseille and Roberto De Zerbi "mutually" agree to end a project that ran out of oxygen
Roberto De Zerbi's Marseille experiment is over.
Officially, it's "by mutual consent." In reality, it ends in the shadow of a 5-0 humiliation against Paris Saint-Germain and a Champions League collapse in Brugge. The timing speaks louder than the statement.
🚨 BREAKING: Roberto De Zerbi and Olympique Marseille part ways with immediate effect.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 10, 2026
Decision made following direct talks & reflections between parties, as @FabriceHawkins reports.
No issues between De Zerbi, the club management and players.
De Zerbi believes it’s best… pic.twitter.com/RJwmYxkQ0L
De Zerbi arrived in July 2024 with Brighton's aura still intact - the progressive tactician, the ideologue, the man who could make teams brave. He quickly won over the Velodrome, guiding OM to second place last season and briefly restoring the illusion that PSG could be challenged.
But in Marseille, illusion has a short shelf life.
This season drifted. Performances flattened. Europe slipped away. And domestically, OM now sit fourth - massive 12 points behind PSG, looking up rather than forward.
After "careful consideration" involving the owner, president and sporting director, the club decided a change was needed "in the best interests" of the season's final stretch.
Translation: the project had stalled.
De Zerbi leaves having lifted expectations and, ultimately, fallen short of sustaining them. In a city that demands fire every weekend, progress without trophies rarely buys time.
The Velodrome moves on. And so does he.