Since the summer in Viale della Liberazione we have been keeping an eye on the Ligue 1 standings and as the sand of the 2023-2024 season settles at the bottom of the hourglass, the attention becomes more frequent. In this case there are no particular fan twinnings at stake, but several million euros linked to the loan of Joaquin Correa to Olympique Marseille. In the summer the Argentine left Milan for Provence on a costly loan worth 2 million – with Alexis Sanchez curiously involved in the reverse journey at the end of the contract -, but in the agreement between the two clubs there is also a clause that would bind the Tucu to the French outright. In fact, if Om qualifies for the next Champions League, a redemption obligation is automatically triggered.
the clause
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Ironic posts from Nerazzurri fans systematically appear on social networks showing that they are supporting Marseille on television for the operation to materialise: 10 million euros would be paid to Inter in addition to the 2 already collected and at the same time the issue of the future of a player would be eliminated footballer who – it’s no secret – is not in the company and team plans. In the event of failure to qualify, Olympique could still voluntarily buy out the attacker, but this option absolutely does not seem to be in the club’s plans. It cannot be ruled out that Inter will offer a discount to the set amount in the summer – currently “high” due to the contribution of Tucu -, but the activation of that clause would undoubtedly be the most direct way to resolve the issue.
the situation
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Numbers in hand, qualification for the Champions League is rather complicated for Marseille. The arrival of Jean-Louis Gasset on the bench seems to have given new life to the team, but the table is still at a deficit: there are eight matches left until the end of Ligue 1 and Om are in seventh position, 4 points behind the Lille-Nice pairing (fourth) and -7 behind Monaco in third. In short, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his teammates have several teams to leapfrog to be part of the first edition of the Champions League in the single group format. The calendar is not smiling: after the next two matches in Paris Saint-Germain and Lille it will be clear whether the comeback is possible, but then there will also be direct clashes against Nice and Lens which will make Marseille’s path challenging. At the same time, one path that is still open is that of the Europa League: after eliminating Villarreal in the round of 16, Olympique is among the best eight teams in the competition and will face Benfica in the quarter-finals. By passing the round there would only be two opponents in the French’s way, but Om certainly cannot be defined as favourites. At stake for the champions of the trophy is rightfully a place in the Champions League. Translated: Correa’s redemption.
year zero”
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On the one hand team issues, on the other individual ones. And behind Marseille’s reluctance to think about Correa staying, there is a disappointing season from the Argentine. In recent weeks, an in-depth analysis of theTeam on the salaries of Ligue 1, for example, he unleashed the Olympique fans, with Joaquin occupying the podium of the highest paid in the team. The reason is what Inter guaranteed the player at the time of his purchase from Lazio in 2021, but the substance is that the French club has a heavy salary on its payroll which corresponds to an attacker who is still incredibly stuck with zero goals and zero assists . The loan therefore did not represent a turning point for the Argentine who is now seeing the field less and less: from December 2023 to today, the Tucu he only played 21 minutes crumbled into four appearances off the bench. Mockingly, therefore, from Marseille’s point of view, qualification for the Champions League would trigger the redemption of a player who did not contribute to this objective.
