The summer transfer window may now be closed, but Olympique de Marseille is not done making big moves yet. On Sunday they announced that midfielder Adrien Rabiot will join as a free agent, subject to successful medical treatment. The France international left Juventus after his contract expired and was courted by a number of top European clubs, including several Premier League clubs, as well as receiving lucrative offers from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. Still, the 29-year-old will recover at the Stade Velodrome.
It’s a huge step for Rabiot, OM and Ligue 1, but it also sends a message to European rivals that Roberto De Zerbi is making some serious moves at Les Phoceens following his surprise arrival in the summer following his departure from Brighton and Hove Albion. It means a busy summer move for Mason GreenwoodElye Wahi, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Neal Maupay and Ismael Kone to name a few, but Rabiot will arguably be as big – if not bigger – than the bunch once he is confirmed as the latest reinforcement to Marseille’s midfield .
In the Paris region-born Les Bleus star, the Southern giants land a potentially big figure in De Zerbi’s midfield, with a huge amount of experience for someone who has not yet turned 30 and Rabiot could prove crucial in the Italian shaping of this new look. Marseille are set to challenge bitter rivals Paris Saint-Germain at the Championnat summit. The former Manchester City apprentice will in turn be challenged to help OM return to UEFA league qualification, while remaining close enough to remain in the thoughts of France head coach Didier Deschamps ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
However, in Rabiot’s PSG past, things really get interesting and surprising, but also incendiary. He crosses a divide that few have done over the years and it’s one from which there’s no turning back given Le Classique’s explosive nature. as rivalry. While this isn’t a direct move from Paris to OM or Marseille to PSG, these two clubs and fanbases are as divided as ever, which was evident when Marseille-born Lucas Hernandez joined Les Parisiens last year, despite never even playing for Les Olympians had played.
The most recent player to truly cross the divide between playing on both sides was Lassana Diarra in 2018, who came to Paris via the Al Jazira Club just a year after leaving Marseille, and Hatem Ben Arfa had also done so in 2016, albeit with five years between his OM and PSG spells. You have to go all the way back to 2007 for the last direct move between the two clubs, Peguy Luyindula moving from their southern rivals to the capital.
Some other well-known names who have played on both sides of the divide include Claude Makelele, Gabriel Heinze and Lorik Cana. The Argentinian is perhaps the player who provoked the strongest reaction, scoring for both sides in Le Classique and remains one of the worst players. two players to do this. Rabiot won’t be able to do this because he never scored in the grudge match for PSG, but Les Parisiens have a habit of seeing their former players come back to haunt them, so keep an eye out for that on October 27 at the Stade Velodrome.
What sets Rabiot apart from most of those high-profile names is the fact that he is a homegrown PSG product, raised to hate OM and at one point groomed under Qatari ownership as a potential Paris captain. Although Cana was also technically an academy product when he broke through in the early 2000s, he did not grow up exclusively in Paris, but ended up via Switzerland as a result of his family’s precarious situation due to the conflict in Kosovo in the late 1990s and later represented Albania internationally.
Players moving from one side of the Paris-Marseille rivalry inevitably add more spice to the match and this season’s episode of Le Classique was intriguing enough given the arrival of De Zerbi and Luis Enrique’s ongoing transformation project in the Parc des Princes. Assuming Rabiot completes his move, there’s a good chance we’re about to witness the most aggressive version of this grudge game in years – perhaps since PSG’s wave of OM signings in 2004-2006, which Cana was part of together with Frederic. Dehu, Fabrice Fiorese and the late Modeste M’Bami. It promises to be mandatory viewing.
