OM: Richard targets the instability of the Longoria era

Appointed president of Olympique de Marseille, Stéphane Richard has already set out his guiding principles. At a club marked by chronic instability in recent seasons, the future Marseille boss intends to restore consistency, particularly in squad management.

This is no small task given the club’s recent history. Since February 2021, Olympique de Marseille has undergone a series of changes, to the point where constant rotation has become the norm. It is a trend the new president clearly wishes to reverse.

A clear assessment

“There has been too much instability at this club in recent years. It’s very difficult to get a team playing well when a third or half of the squad changes every year,” Stéphane Richard told RTL on Tuesday. The new OM president – who will take up his post on 2 July – bluntly highlighted a long-standing problem, between changes of managers and constant squad turnover.

“Football is a team sport. It certainly involves some outstanding individual talents, but it’s a team game. It’s actually impossible to get a team to perform well under these circumstances. I think the first thing this club needs is a degree of stability. That doesn’t mean there won’t be any changes,” added the former CEO of Orange, whilst calling for Habib Beye to be allowed to get on with his work. A clear message, aimed as much at the present as at past methods.

The Longoria legacy in figures

Since Pablo Longoria took over as president in February 2021, OM has recorded 142 player arrivals and 139 departures, making a total of 281 transfers. Adding to this the ten managerial changes (Larguet, Sampaoli, Tudor, Marcelino, Abardonado, Gattuso, Gasset, De Zerbi, Abardonado, Beye) over the period, the total reaches 291 movements in five years – a particularly high figure for a club supposedly aiming for a long-term presence in the Champions League.

Looking at the details, every season confirms this instability. The 2023–2024 season remains the most notable, with four successive managers, whilst the current season (2025–2026) has already seen 60 player movements (signings, buy-backs, loans, sales). This constant turnover has prevented OM from building for the long term, despite some promising results here and there, and largely explains the desire expressed by its new leader to start afresh on a much more stable footing.