Mehdi Benatia has resigned from his role as director of football at Olympique de Marseille, leaving the club with immediate effect as tensions around the project boiled over. The former Morocco international, who joined OM’s sporting structure in 2023 and became sporting director in early 2025, confirmed his exit in a statement on social media on Sunday.
Benatia’s departure comes just days after head coach Roberto De Zerbi left the club, deepening the sense of instability around a Marseille side already under pressure from poor results and fan unrest. He had previously tied his future to De Zerbi’s, and internal tensions over the direction of the project and club management have now pushed him to walk away.
Explaining his decision, Benatia said he no longer wanted to become an obstacle for the club and its development, stressing that OM must always come before any individual. He admitted he was no longer fully aligned with certain aspects of club policy and did not want his presence to add to the crisis atmosphere around the team.
The 38-year-old insisted he had given his best on a professional level but regretted being unable to calm the environment around the squad in recent weeks. For Benatia, who accepted the OM role in part because of his strong relationship with the club and city, the resignation is presented as an act of responsibility: stepping aside rather than becoming “a problem” in an already fragile situation.
