Marseille's Adrien Rabiot Up For Sale After 'Extremely Violent' Bust-Up In Dressing Room

Last Updated:August 20, 2025, 21:18 IST

Marseille had called the players' behaviour "unacceptable" in a brief club statement published on Tuesday.

Marseille put Adrien Rabiot up for sale after 'extremely violent' bust-up. (Picture Credit: AFP)

Marseille president Pablo Longoria announced on Wednesday that the club has decided to place star player Adrien Rabiot and English winger Jonathan Rowe on the transfer list due to an “extremely violent" dressing room altercation.

“What happened was extremely serious and violent, something I’ve never encountered before," Longoria told AFP in an interview.

“We had to make a decision because what occurred went far beyond what is acceptable in a football club, as it would in any organisation."

The incident took place following Friday’s 1-0 defeat away to Rennes in their opening match of the French Ligue 1 season, a game Marseille lost to a stoppage-time goal after playing for an hour with an extra man.

Marseille condemned the players’ behaviour as “unacceptable" in a brief club statement released on Tuesday.

“I wasn’t in the dressing room, but the staff who were told me it was incredible, violent, aggressive, and went beyond any limits," said 39-year-old Spaniard Longoria, who has been Marseille president since 2021.

The incident is a significant setback for the 1993 Champions League winners, who finished second in Ligue 1 last season to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition.

They entered this campaign with ambitions of challenging champions Paris Saint-Germain under Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi, but are now facing a full-blown crisis.

“Roberto De Zerbi has been coaching for 13 years, and (sporting director) Medhi Benatia has been in top-level football for 22 years. I started out in professional football 20 years ago," Longoria added.

“I think we all have enough experience to say we have never seen anything like it in a dressing room… Even in the worst punch-ups, there are rules. Not in this case."

England Under-21 international winger Rowe spent last season on loan at OM from Norwich City, and that deal was made permanent in the summer.

The 30-year-old Rabiot, who has 53 caps for France, joined Marseille at the beginning of last season as a free agent after leaving Juventus.

He had an outstanding first campaign at the Velodrome, but Marseille have not succeeded in persuading the former PSG midfielder to extend a contract which will expire at the end of this season.

However, Longoria insisted that the decision to put Rabiot up for sale was not related to his contractual situation.

“The decision was very clear. It protects the club as an institution and it protects our season going forward. It is not negotiable for me to be president of a club where there are no rules," Longoria added.

“Honestly, as a club, we are the victims in this situation. A fight like this is unheard of in the world of football."

Marseille’s second game of the Ligue 1 season will be at home to newly-promoted Paris FC on Saturday.

(With inputs from AFP)

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Marseille

First Published:

August 20, 2025, 21:18 IST

News sports Marseille's Adrien Rabiot Up For Sale After 'Extremely Violent' Bust-Up In Dressing Room

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