During today’s pre-match press conference ahead of Marseille v Lens, André Villas-Boas told journalists he has already submitted his resignation to the board and is waiting for their approval, citing the signing of Olivier Ntcham from Celtic as the last straw. It is the latest in a long line of dramatic events surrounding the French club.
André said, “The window ended with the arrival of a new player [Olivier Ntcham]. This is a decision that was not taken by me. I learned about the transfer this morning by the press when I woke up. He is a player for who I said no to. He was not on our list, I wasn’t in favour [of signing him]. I woke up, I looked at OM’s number 1 news site to find out about the arrival of a new player, I submitted my resignation to management.”
André went on to say, “without stealing anything from my contract, I do not agree with sports policy. I made the decision to submit my resignation to management. They have not yet given feedback. I don’t want anything from OM in terms of money. It’s a difference in sports policy. Too bad to get to this point. I looked for a better solution from Sanson. If there is anything untouchable, it is my professionalism towards my team. I can’t accept that”.
André also said he’s focused on the game v Lens, because until the board given him clearance to resign, he is bound by contract to do his job and his aim is still to win games.
“I am bound by contract, I will do everything to respect this contract. I am responsible for the results, I will support my group. Now, we’re at this point on the sporting aspect. Management has asked for a little time, it’s not a problem. I studied Lens well. I have a lot of respect for Frank (McCourt). This is not the first time that a player who is not the choice of a coach has arrived in a club, but it is not my way of working. If not, we continue. I want to clarify: I don’t want anything from OM, I don’t want money. I just want to leave. People say bullshit about compensation. I want to be clear with you.”
We will wait to see what happens next in the AVB-Marseille saga. Keep up to date with updates via ProximaJornada1 on Twitter.
