Adrien rabiot’s surprising olympique marseille move: real madrid interest and benatia’s bold play revealed

After his initial move to Olympique Marseille, Rabiot’s tenure with the club was reportedly brief. Following an altercation with Jonathan Rowe, the French international was said to have been shown the door by OM, subsequently relocating to Lombardy. He then joined AC Milan, marking a return to Serie A, a league he knows intimately from his previous spell with Juventus between 2019 and 2024. Despite significant interest from other major European clubs offering more ambitious projects, Rabiot had initially chosen Marseille upon the expiration of his contract with the Turin giants.

ancelotti’s real madrid ambition for rabiot

Adrien Rabiot’s choice to join Olympique Marseille was met with considerable astonishment, not only because of his PSG academy background but also because the Phocaean club was not participating in any European competition at the time. Nevertheless, the French international was ultimately swayed by Marseille’s proposition. Yet, he could have instead signed with Real Madrid. Spanish journalist José Félix Diaz, writing for AS, highlighted on X that Rabiot, fresh off a strong performance with the French national team at the World Cup, was without a club on August 30, 2024, and that then-Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti had expressed a desire to sign him. Despite Ancelotti’s clear interest, Rabiot did not move to the Spanish capital, opting instead for OM.

a bold move by medhi benatia

The orchestrator behind Adrien Rabiot’s arrival at OM was none other than Medhi Benatia, who was then the club’s director of football. The Moroccan, now a former director for Marseille, recounted the audacious circumstances of this significant signing. Benatia explained, “When I brought Adrien in, the transfer window was closed, but we could use a joker. He was a free agent at the time, having not extended his contract with Juve. He had a multitude of options but, for various reasons, hadn’t reached an agreement. I had followed his entire transfer saga, where he might go, etc. So, I decided to be bold… When you know Adri, he’s passionate about football, a guy who gives everything. So, when I called him, I thought, ‘at worst, he says no, I have nothing to lose. But if it works out…’ And then, he called me back 24 hours later. I told him, ‘Adri, my friend, I gave you 48 hours, not 24. Are you sure you’ve thought this through?’ He replied, ‘No, no, I’ve thought about it. I’ll give you my mother’s number, call her, and you can start.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry, I already have everything. I just need you to tell me if…’ He said, ‘No, it’s good, for me, it’s how you talked about football. It’s good, I want to come.'”