Villas-Boas resigns as Marseille sign player against his wish
Andre Villas-Boas has tendered his resignation at Olympique Marseille after the Ligue 1 club went against his wishes by signing Olivier Ntcham.
Ntcham joined on loan until the end of the season from Celtic on deadline day Monday in spite of Villas-Boas saying he did not want the player.
The former Tottenham and Chelsea manager consequently felt his position was no longer tenable and said on Tuesday he offered to leave, citing a disagreement with Marseille’s sporting policy.
Villas-Boas said the training ground being attacked by angry fans at the weekend “had nothing to do with it” and that he was awaiting a response from the club.
“I submitted my resignation saying that I did not agree with the sporting policy. I don’t want anything from OM. I don’t want money,” he told a news conference on Tuesday.
“I’m waiting for an answer. It can be `no’ and then we will continue. I don’t want any money, I just want to leave.
“[Signing Ntcham was] a decision that was not taken by me, I learned of it this morning from the press. He is a player that I had said `no’ to. He was not on our list.
“The results – it’s my fault. I’m very upset. But if there’s something you cannot touch, it’s my professionalism. I cannot accept this. This club has already been through a couple of messy years in terms of transfers.”
Marseille have won just one of their past eight Ligue 1 matches, with a 3-1 loss at Monaco last time out their third straight defeat.
Their meeting with Rennes on Saturday was called off after fans stormed the training ground in protest.
Villas-Boas accepted the club’s request for time before making a decision on his resignation and he was still preparing the team for Wednesday’s trip to Lens.
“I’m focused on Lens. We continue until the board lets me go,” he added.
(dpa/NAN)
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