Roberto De Zerbi leaves Marseille by 'mutual agreement' following Paris Saint-Germain thrashing and UEFA Champions League humiliation

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Roberto De Zerbi has left Olympique de Marseille by "mutual agreement" following a thrashing by Paris Saint-Germain and a chastening UEFA Champions League exit. The French side were beaten 3-0 by Club Brugge in their final league phase fixture and missed out on a play-off spot on goal difference. The Italian stayed in his role despite resignation rumours, but he has now departed after 18 months.

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Roberto De Zerbi has left his role as manager of Olympique de Marseille by mutual consent, the French club have announced.

The decision comes following a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of rivals Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday and 3-0 losses to Liverpool and Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League, which saw them miss out on the play-offs.

De Zerbi was appointed manager of the Ligue 1 club in the summer of 2024 and guided them to a second-placed finish last season.

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The former Brighton & Hove Albion boss departs the Stade Velodrome with Marseille sitting fourth this time around, 12 points adrift of leaders PSG, while they are in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France.

"Olympique de Marseille and Roberto De Zerbi, coach of the first team, have announced the end of their collaboration by mutual agreement," the club said in a statement.

"Following discussions between all stakeholders in the club's management - the owner, president, director of football, and coach - it was decided to make a change at the helm of the first team.

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"This was a difficult collective decision, taken after careful consideration in the best interests of the club, in order to respond to the sporting challenges of the end of the season."

Just hours after his exit, Tottenham announced the departure of Thomas Frank as manager, with several bookies installing De Zerbi as the favourite to replace the Dane in north London.

The pressure really started to mount on De Zerbi following Marseille's Champions League exit, with the French side missing out on goal difference after defeat at Brugge.

They slipped into the elimination zone following a late goal from Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin against Real Madrid.

The elimination quickly led to widespread reports that the Italian was ready to offer his resignation from the club.

TNT Sports expert Julien Laurens said at the time: "Humiliating for him and Marseille to lose at Brugge like they did.

"I am not surprised [about reports of resignation] because things were not going right.

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"It is difficult, he has been at war with the French media for a long time now, really clashing pretty much every press conference, every week."

There had been widespread reports linking De Zerbi with the Manchester United job in the final weeks of his tenure at Marseille, with Michael Carrick in an interim role at Old Trafford until the end of the season.

De Zerbi joined the French side following two seasons at Brighton, while he has also had managerial roles at Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk.

The 46-year-old guided Brighton to sixth in the Premier League during the 2022/23 campaign, the club’s highest-ever top-flight finish, which secured them European football for the first time.

However, De Zerbi again left by mutual agreement at the end of the following campaign.

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