Marseille bring in Zubizarreta as sporting director

Olympique Marseille have confirmed that they have appointed former Barcelona and Spain goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta as their new Sporting Director on a three-year contract.

55 year-old Zubizarreta, who has worked as a television pundit since being sacked as Barcelona’s sporting director in early 2015, replaces previous incumbent Gunter Jacob and will be handed a budget of around €200 million ahead of next season.

A new era under American ownership

His appointment comes as part of the overhaul of the club following the arrival of new owner and US businessman Frank McCourt this month and soon after the appointment of former Roma coach Rudi Garcia as manager.

The Ligue 1 underachievers had reportedly set their sights on Sevilla chief Monchi but he remains tied to a long-term contract at the club. Marseille also targeted Luis Campos, but negotiations are said to have broken down.

Full screen Zubizerreta was presented in Marseille on Thursday morning as the club's new Sporting Director AFP

Ligue 1 and the Champions League in their sights

McCourt says that changes are being made to the club’s technical staff to implant a winning culture at the club.

“The goal is to win the league,” he told L’Eqiupe. “My number one goal is to win Ligue 1, the second is to win the title more often that we don’t and the third is to win the Champions League. We have to manage to do that in that order.”