Olympiue Marseille: Benatia publicly scolds Clauss

“Behavior borderline”

In France, a delicate dispute has broken out at Olympique Marseille. There are two protagonists who are also known in Germany, as well as the French players’ union UNFP, which heavily criticized the OM club management and former Bayern professional Medhi Benatia. The latter, who works as a management consultant at the traditional club, had publicly shot against the former Bielefeld right-back and current national player Jonathan Clauss.

There are quite a few voices in the French media that attest that the professional Clauss has a behavioral problem. Even after the scolding of the player that Benatia presented on TV on “Canal+”, some took the ex-Munich player’s side. The UNFP’s words towards Benatia and OM boss Pablo Longoria could hardly have been clearer. The actions of the club and its advisor are “shameful” and “disgusting,” according to the union, which accuses those responsible for repeatedly blaming players for problems in the club.

“Based on what has been said about Jonathan Clauss, it will not be easy for him to demonstrate on the pitch the qualities that will make him the kind of defender Didier Deschamps is counting on in the run-up to the next European Championship,” complained the UNFP . Benatia’s attack could also affect Clauss’ club search. After the current season, the national player, who was signed for 7.5 million euros in 2022, still has a contract for another year.

OM put Clauss on the transfer market in the winter – Benatia: Behavior borderline

Benatia had accused Clauss of a lack of commitment and was bothered by the fact that the player had asked for a substitution due to injury after around half an hour in the game against Monaco in January (2-2), while the staffing level at OM was very thin. Benatia also said: “When I arrived in November, I was warned about two or three players whose behavior was sometimes a bit borderline. Jonathan was one of those players. I know that he was called into the coach’s office several times to explain to him what was expected of him as a leader and as a France international. We thought the message had gotten through, unfortunately it didn’t.”

After the game against Monaco, the club management interpreted it as meaning that Clauss wanted to leave the club in the winter transfer window. The agent was contacted on the night of the game and obviously put the player on the market. FC Bayern was named as a candidate. “But there was no offer,” Benatia summed up and added: “He’s playing, there’s no problem, we’ll see what happens at the end of the season.” Since the incident, the situation has initially eased somewhat.

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