The mother and agent of Adrien Rabiot has been harshly criticised for ‘incompetence’ amid fresh claims she failed to secure the France midfielder a move to Tottenham or Manchester United shortly before his switch to Marseille.
The 29-year-old star had been a free agent since June 30 when his contract with Juventus came to an end, with Rabiot deciding it was time to move on after five seasons and 212 appearances with the Serie A giants. Making history that summer as the first player to appear in the knockout stages of the European Championships while unattached, the midfielder was not short of interest as he weighed up his next career move.
However, despite initial interest from the likes of Arsenal, Newcastle, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham, Rabiot was unable to agree terms over a move to the Premier League – which TEAMtalk had previously confirmed was very much the player’s preference – instead joining Marseille on a two-year deal.
Per TBR Football, Rabiot was offered directly to Tottenham shortly before his move to OM was confirmed, an offer they rejected, while it was a similar story as far as Manchester United were concerned, with his wage demands cited as a factor.
Now French agent Bruno Satin has hit out at the failure to secure Rabiot a move to one of Europe’s elite clubs, pointing the finger of blame firmly at his mother and agent, Veronique.
“It’s the result of the incompetence of the people who accompanied him there,’ Satin told RMC Sport when asked about Rabiot’s move to Marseille.
“He is advised by his mother and it shows that it is good to be accompanied by professionals because if he had been accompanied by a pro, he would be in a European top ten club and what’s more, he was free.”
Rabiot mother makes revelation over failed Atletico talks
Satin, who has worked alongside the likes of Paul Pogba, Sergio Aguero and Ibrahima Konate during his time in the game, believes Rabiot may need to have some harsh words with his mother and moreso in light of how an alleged demand she made to Atletico Madrid when holding transfer talks.
“The first thing is to get his opinion and find out what he wants to do,” Satin suggested.
“But it would be more interesting to ask him at the end of May because now, he has done the rounds of the market.
“To take a concrete example, I had the sporting director of Atletico Madrid at the end of July and he told me: ‘I had two conversations with the mother and I stopped immediately because she explained to me where her son should play’.
“It quickly tires all the professionals, it’s unbearable.”
Having ultimately been left with few concrete options, the 29-year-old ultimately signed a two-year at the Stade Veldrome until 2026, which Le Parisien journalist Abdellah Boulma reports is worth a modest €3.5m a season (£57,000, $75,000 per week).
Former Tottenham man secures surprise move as Romero plan emerges
While Tottenham opted against the move, Ange Postecoglou is open to further additons in midfield with both a deal for Real Betis’ Johnny Cardoso lined up for next summer and Boca Juniors star Kevin Zenon also in their sights.
Having let Tanguy Ndombele (released), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (loan), Oliver Skipp and Giovani Lo Celso depart, with only Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall added in return, there is certainly space for a new arrival to come into the engine room in 2025.
In the meantime, former Spurs man Ivan Perisic has secured himself a surprise move back to European football with transfer guru Fabrizio Romano giving the deal his trademark ‘Here we go’ green light.
And elsewhere at Spurs, the club are reported to have hatched a plan to keep World Cup winning defender Cristian Romero from an unwanted exit amid interest from Real Madrid.
Rabiot’s glittering career in numbers
Whether the move to ignore the chance to sign Rabiot proves the right one will remain to be seen, but Marseille are certainly picking up one of Europe’s most talented all-round midfielders on what appears a bargain deal.
And with Roberto De Zerbi’s side having started the season in fine fashion, the Italian will hope a midfield axis with former Spurs man Hojbjerg proves successful as they look to wrestle the Ligue 1 crown from PSG’s grasp.
Here’s what OM are getting their hands on with Rabiot:
463 – Senior career appearances Rabiot has made for PSG and Juventus
52 – Combined goals at senior level for club and country
36 – Combined assists at senior level for club and country
48 – senior caps for France
21 – major honours (including five Ligie 1 title wins and 1 Serie A title win)