OM: Pablo Longoria, the man who has lived and breathed the transfer market since 2020

Between the promise of stability and Marseille-style frenzy

Twelve signings this summer, matching a record. Despite cautious talk from Pablo Longoria and Roberto De Zerbi, the 2025 transfer window ended with a bang. Six arrivals in the final week, including Pavard and Aguerd, for a total outlay of over €100m. Hard to see much continuity: OM once again opted for revolution.

A guiding plan quickly upended

At first, the logic seemed clear: strengthen central defense, bet on long-term profiles. Medina, Angel Gomes and Timothy Weah fit that plan. But the defeat at Rennes and the Rabiot affair turned everything upside down, triggering an immediate reaction. Result: Hamed Junior Traoré, Vermeeren, O’Riley and even Pavard arrived in the final hours.

The fixture-list argument

Management justifies this choice by the upcoming fixture list: nearly 50 matches this season. "We needed a squad of around 22 players," the club explains. But beyond sporting necessity, it's hard not to see a desire to make a major media splash with the arrival of 2018 World Cup winner Pavard.

Five years of nonstop transfer activity

Since arriving in Marseille in 2020 as head of football, then being appointed president in 2021, Longoria has lived for the transfer market. The numbers speak: 172 moves in five years, including 80 arrivals and 92 departures.

• 2020-21: 7 arrivals, 7 departures
• 2021-22: 15 arrivals, 12 departures
• 2022-23: 17 arrivals, 21 departures
• 2023-24: 13 arrivals, 16 departures
• 2024-25: 16 arrivals, 21 departures
• 2025: 12 arrivals, 15 departures

A frenetic pace that illustrates the Longoria method: rebuild every year, even if it means looking like an unstable club.

Short-termism embraced

The numbers give pause: 55% of signings since 2021 did not play a second season in an OM shirt. A constant churn that amuses as much as it worries. Mehdi Benatia is unapologetic: "We'll keep looking like a revolving door, but we'll take responsibility for making changes if the attitude isn't right."

Marseille, between fascination and vertigo

In five years, OM have spent more than half a billion euros (€542m, excluding bonuses), for €336m in sales. Fascinating as spectacle, worrying for balance. The Marseille faithful now live each transfer window like a soap opera, between euphoria and vertigo. It remains to be seen whether this permanent frenzy will end up building a solid project… or exhausting the club.