The departure of Steve Mandanda in Rennes during the summer transfer window should quickly be completed. The Marseille club will not receive any transfer compensation because Pablo Longoria did not want to block the 37-year-old goalkeeper.
An emblematic figure of Olympique de Marseille, Steve Mandanda seemed destined to play until the end of his career in the Marseille club. But history, and especially the summer transfer window, decided otherwise.
At 37, the goalkeeper will leave OM to join Rennes and continue his fine career there. After the failed parenthesis on the side of Crystal Palace during the 2016-2017 season, Steve Mandanda will once again leave Canebière and should commit to two years in Brittany.
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Mandanda looking for playing time
Appearing 20 times last season, but only nine times in the league, Steve Mandanda does not want to relive a similar year. Despite his status as a locker room executive and his loyalty to OM, the doorman trained in Le Havre wants to play and does not intend to hang up yet. In Rennes, where Alfred Gomis did not convince in goal, the tricolor international with 34 selections should recover a number one spot there.
On the Marseille side, it is even confirmed that the transfer of the 2018 world champion is imminent and that the club “respects the choice of Mandanda.” Concerned about his playing time behind Pau Lopes, the veteran therefore preferred to join a competitor in Ligue 1. A departure for which OM will not receive any money.
Longoria wants to reward the Mandanda legend
Under contract with OM until June 2024, Steve Mandanda will not be blocked by his management. If some financial details remain to be settled between Marseille and Stade Rennais, the goalkeeper will be “released” and his transfer validated. Nevertheless, Rennes will not pay compensation to the Phocaeans.
It is a choice of Pablo Longoria who wanted to leave Mandanda master of his destiny without interfering with a negotiation for a transfer indemnity. A way to thank “Il Fenomeno” given his past and his importance in the history of OM.