De Zerbi Departs Marseille by Mutual Agreement
Last update: February 11, 2026
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Italian coach departs after heavy defeat to PSG and inconsistent run of results.
Coach Roberto De Zerbi has left Marseille by mutual agreement, the French club said early on Wednesday, days after a 5 0 thrashing by bitter rivals Paris Saint Germain.
The 46 year old Italian, who had been in charge since the summer of 2024, has been linked with a return to the Premier League.
Marseille exited the Champions League last month and were heavily beaten at PSG on Sunday, leaving them fourth in Ligue 1.
After days of speculation about his future, the club said in a statement that following discussions between the owner, president, director of football and coach, it was decided to make a change at the head of the first team.
The statement described it as a difficult collective decision taken after careful consideration in the best interests of the club in order to respond to the sporting challenges at the end of the season.
De Zerbi took training on Monday and Tuesday as usual, but a source told AFP that after a meeting with club bosses all parties agreed to part ways.
A change of approach was necessary to ensure the team reaches its objectives at the end of the season, notably qualification for the Champions League, the source said.
De Zerbi guided Marseille to second place behind PSG in the league last season.
They made a strong start to the current campaign, moving top of the table with a 6 2 win over Le Havre in mid October.
At the end of November, following a 5 1 victory at Nice, they were second and just two points behind PSG.
However, they have won only three of their last eight league matches and now sit 12 points behind the reigning champions and three behind Lyon in the final automatic Champions League qualification spot. Fourth place would mean entering a play off to reach the league phase.
Back to back 3 0 defeats, at home to Liverpool and away to Club Brugge, brought their Champions League campaign to an end.
They missed out on the knockout stages on goal difference after Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored a last gasp goal against Real Madrid, allowing the Portuguese side to move above them in the standings.
De Zerbi said a few weeks ago that he had no explanation for his team’s inconsistent form.
He joined Marseille after a successful two year spell at Premier League side Brighton, guiding them to sixth place in his first season. Before that, he coached Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk.
CBI News reports that Marseille have now had six full time coaches in the past four years.
