Moretto: Adrien Rabiot accepted pay put to join Marseille

Transfer News

September 17, 2024 - 8:00 am

Former Juventus vice-captain Adrien Rabiot is on the cusp of signing for Olympique Marseille as a free agent, even though it wasn’t his most financially rewarding option.

On Sunday, the Ligue 1 giants announced an agreement in principle with the Frenchman, revealing that the latter will have to pass his routine medical tests before finalizing his move.

This ensued only hours following Veronique Rabiot’s statements regarding a rumored Juventus U-turn.

Some reports in the media had suggested that the midfielder could end up re-signing for the Bianconeri following Thiago Motta’s comments during his press conference on Friday, but the player’s mother/agent was quick to deny the story, insisting Juventus is now a closed chapter.

But while the France international was dreaming of a Premier League switch, he didn’t receive concrete offers from the English shores.

While some clubs from Turkiye and Saudi Arabia inquired about his services, the 29-year-old felt it was too soon for him to move to lower leagues.

So in the end, Rabiot ended up accepting a transfer to OM, even though the Southern French side didn’t offer him the same amount proposed by his other suitors.

This is what Italian journalist Matteo Moretto revealed in his latest column for Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing.

The transfer guru denies that Rabiot and his entourage will earn 10 million euros from the deal.

Moretto insists that the player made the decision based on sporting factors, especially following a chat with Marseille’s new head coach Roberto De Zerbi.

Club president Pablo Longoria and sporting director Mehdi Taremi (both formerly of Juventus) also played an integral role in the agreement. They have been working on luring Rabiot to the Velodrome since late August when they felt the operation is plausible.