Olympique de Marseille head coach Roberto De Zerbi has outright denied that there has been any contact between himself and Milan, despite the fact that he had been one of the leading candidates to take over from Sergio Conceicao at the end of the 2024-25 season according to recent reports in Italy.
De Zerbi has been linked with a move to San Siro to take over from Coneceicao in the Rossoneri hot seat, as the Portuguese tactician is expected to leave at the end of the current campaign.
It had been reported that De Zerbi would be one of Fabio Paratici’s preferred candidates, but the former Juventus and Tottenham executive is no longer expected to take over as Milan’s new sporting director, which means it is unclear whether the Rossoneri will maintain their interest in De Zerbi.
De Zerbi denies Milan links: ‘I said it wasn’t true’
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, De Zerbi made it clear that he has not been in contact with any representatives from Milan.
“Everyone is free to say what they want. Nobody called me, no team,” the former Brighton and Sassuolo coach said during his pre-match press conference, reported via TMW.
He continued: “As always, I don’t talk to or flirt with any other team. My intention is to stay here for many more years. There are two sides to any marriage. Let’s see how the season ends.”
Asked specifically about the reports linking him to Milan, De Zerbi replied: “I said it wasn’t true. I haven’t spoken to anyone, I don’t talk to anyone.”
It has been a chaotic few days for De Zerbi in France, as reports suggest he has had a full-scale fall-out with the Marseille squad and refused to take training as a result, which led Mehdi Benatia to step in and act as the peacekeeper.
Click here to read more about De Zerbi’s last few days with Marseille.
Yet another flawed manager. Milan need a manager who can go back to basics, and sort out the defence. A coach who can get the defence and midfield to work together when OUT of possession. A coach who can work to minimise chances for the opposition. A coach who can make Milan difficult to score again. De Zerbi is not that guy. Marseille have the wor5t defensive record amongst the top 6 in France. His Brighton team let in almo5t 140 in le55 than 90 games.
He is a coach who will produce teams that are nice to watch but will always be easy to score against.