Mehdi Benatia says he would be open to working for Paris Saint-Germain in the future, insisting his comments about the club were misinterpreted and that he sees no contradiction in joining one of Olympique de Marseille’s biggest rivals.
The former Marseille sporting director caused controversy when he discussed the possibility of working for Paris Saint-Germain on the programme The Bridge, while he was still holding an executive role at the southern French club.
Benatia left Marseille at the end of last season but has now offered a detailed explanation of his position in an interview with France Football. He said his comments were not an attempt to seek employment with Paris Saint-Germain, but simply an honest response to a hypothetical question.
“I was answering the question that caused controversy, but what I said was misinterpreted,” Benatia told RMC.
“My message was not: if Nasser Al-Khelaifi calls me tomorrow, I will go. I have a good relationship with him, and if he calls me in several years and the opportunity is right for me, I will go.”
The Morocco international also dismissed criticism that he should not consider working for Marseille’s historic rival.
“I am free. What should I do? And for whom? I tried to serve Marseille in the club’s best interests. Paris Saint-Germain are the rival, so what?” he said.
“We are professionals and we work. I do what I want. That was the message, and it was absolutely not an attempt to offer my services.”
The issue is particularly sensitive because of the longstanding rivalry between Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain. Players rarely move directly between the two clubs, while a switch involving senior executives is even less common.
One notable recent example is Alain Roche, who played for Marseille in 1990 before becoming Paris Saint-Germain’s head of recruitment between 2006 and 2011.
Why Benatia left Marseille
In the same interview, Benatia explained the breakdown in his relationship with Marseille’s leadership, which eventually led to his departure as the club’s football director.
He said the decisive moment came during Marseille’s trip to Kuwait in January for the Champions Trophy match against Paris Saint-Germain. The game finished 2-2 before Marseille lost on penalties.
Benatia said a meeting with former Marseille president Pablo Longoria and the club’s owner, Frank McCourt, exposed the scale of the financial problems facing the club.
“I understood that we had to sell players for 30m euros. So I got rid of Robinio Vaz and Darryl Bakola, who did not want to renew, and I also used loans to reduce the wage bill,” he said, according to RMC.
“But I was angry with everyone.”
Although he did not decide to leave immediately, Benatia described the meeting as a clear turning point in his relationship with the club.
“That was the breaking point, but I had not decided to leave. I was extremely angry: I was fighting for the club and then I discovered the financial situation,” he said.
“I felt betrayed by the situation. When accounts differ, I like to bring everyone around the table. Nobody can lie or evade the issue.”
Benatia also said he left Marseille without signing an agreement preventing him from speaking publicly about his time at the club.
“When I left Marseille, I asked for zero and I did not sign anything concerning confidentiality. There was no need to buy my silence. What I have to say is extremely costly, and the truth has no price,” he said.
Defending his record at Marseille, Benatia pointed to the club’s transfer figures and stressed that he was not responsible for the financial circumstances he inherited.
“When I arrived in November 2023, Marseille were under the supervision of the financial control body for clubs. Who was responsible? I was not there,” he said.
“In two and a half years, we sold players for 259m euros and spent 275m euros on signings. People can lie, but figures do not lie.”
