‘No solutions’ for Marseille as Gattuso poised for exit

Italian coach Gennaro Gattuso is to leave Ligue 1 side Marseille following their 1-0 defeat at Brest at the weekend, a source close to the negotiations told AFP on Monday.

Gattuso said after Sunday’s defeat that Marseille, who have now gone six games without a win had “hit rock bottom”. 

According to a source close to Monday’s talks, the Italian admitted that he “no longer had any solutions” for reviving Marseille’s fortunes. 

Gattuso’s departure is expected to take the form of a mutual parting of the ways rather than a sacking, according to the same source.

The 46-year-old arrived at Marseille at the end of September to replace Marcelino Garcia Toral who quit after just seven competitive games in charge.

However, he failed to turn around the fortunes of a team that has failed to win a league game in 2024 and is currently ninth in the table, a long way from qualifying for European competition next season. 

Apart from a narrow 1-0 win over fifth-tier Thionville in the French Cup, Marseille have not won since hosting Clermont on December 17. They were subsequently knocked out of the cup by Rennes.

Their one bright spot has been a 2-2 draw away to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League play-offs with the return leg at the Velodrome on Thursday. 

While the details of Gattuso’s departure remain to be finalised, the club is already looking for a successor. After a Spaniard and an Italian, the source said they were looking for a “man of action, capable of getting into the heads of his players and wanted more of a francophile”.