Villas-Boas Offered Two-Year Contract Extension By Marseille
Olympique Marseille have acted swiftly to quell rumors of a potential exit of manager Andre Villas-Boas by offering him a new two-year contract.
Villas-Boas’ future at Marseille has come under intense scrutiny in recent days after sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta quit last week.
The former Chelsea, FC Porto and Tottenham Hotspur manager was appointed Marseille boss last summer on a two-year contract and quickly stamped his authority on the team with some eye catching displays that saw them win 16 times and lose just four of their 28 top flight games before the season was ended in France.
Marseille finished as runners up to champions Paris Saint Germain, marking a return to the UEFA Champions League after missing out entirely on European competition last season.
Reports in France earlier this week indicated that Villas-Boas had rejected a one-year extension but Marseille have come out to clarify that they want to keep their manager for a longer period.
"Following erroneous information in the media recently concerning the contract extension proposed to Andre Villas-Boas, Olympique de Marseille wishes to re-establish the reality of facts," a club statement read.
"As early as last week, the president of Olympique de Marseille, Jacques-Henri Eyraud, spoke with Andre Villas-Boas about his desire to offer him a contract extension.
"Over the weekend, [Marseille owner] Frank McCourt confirmed to Andre Villas-Boas that he was on the line with Jacques-Henri Eyraud and hoped that they would both work on the terms of this extension.
"At the end of the day on Monday, the club sent Andre Villas-Boas a proposal to extend the contract by two years (for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons) plus one optional year (2023-24), if OM qualified for the Champions League that year."
"For 20 years Olympique de Marseille has been a club that has suffered chronic instability. Twenty-four coaching changes have been issued by OM during this period," the statement continued.
"Over these 20 years, only three coaches have received a contractual commitment of 4 years or more: Didier Deschamps, Rudi Garcia and today Andre Villas-Boas with this proposal.
"First of all, this shows the club's desire to create conditions of stability. This also demonstrates the determination of the club to invest when it deems it necessary in the conditions of sporting success.
"Finally, this demonstrates all the confidence the club has in the technical qualities of Andre Villas-Boas, with whom Olympique de Marseille wishes to write an important page in its modern history."
