Marseille owner Frank McCourt has said the Ligue 1 club have to be "creative" in the transfer market because he cannot compete financially with Paris Saint-Germain's owners.

Ahead of the new season, PSG brought in Neymar for €220 million as well as loaning Kylian Mbappe from Monaco in a deal that is set to cost €180m next summer. Marseille's marquee signing, meanwhile, was Kostas Mitroglou, picked up late in the window from Benfica for €15m.

Though the Greece forward's arrival has been followed by the €10m permanent signing of Jordan Amavi, who had been on loan from Aston Villa, McCourt's outlay since taking over OM last October has been dwarfed by the sums invested in PSG by Qatar Sports Investments.

Despite the gulf in financial muscle, however, McCourt's Marseille held PSG 2-2 in Sunday's highly anticipated Ligue 1 clash, and would have secured a famous win but for Edinson Cavani's added-time equaliser.

"OM today is better than that of a year ago. The gap is closing and that will continue because we're going to continue our work," McCourt, who once owned the Los Angeles Dodgers, told La Provence. "We need to be creative, to work hard, because I don't have Qatar's chequebook."

Frank McCourt says he remains optimistic that Marseille will challenge at the summit of Ligue 1. Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

With funds limited in the summer, another loan deal was orchestrated for Valencia defender Aymen Abdennour, while France centre-back Adil Rami was also signed along with Brazil midfielder Luiz Gustavo.

They also made cut-price moves for Monaco forward Valere Germain, Clinton Njie and Florian Thauvin, and have been boosted by Lucas Ocampos' return from a loan spell at AC Milan.

"The transfer market is very difficult, everyone sees that," McCourt said. "The economy is completely crazy, but the recruiting team has done a very good job in selecting the players that will take OM to the next step.

"It's like climbing a mountain: you start at the bottom, climb a little, you stop, take in the view and it's different to the one you had at the bottom.

"There, you readjust and you continue like that to the top."

Marseille are two points outside Ligue 1's top three with 10 games played and are just four off second place, which would secure automatic Champions League group stage qualification.

"That's the project," McCourt said. "You have to be clever in this very complicated market. We have invested a lot in scouts and the youth academy. When I came here, other clubs came to get young talents from Marseille. It's unacceptable. We have to start here, but also find talents from around the world."

McCourt, who made his money in real estate development, arrived in Marseille to much fanfare in October 2016, completing a €45m purchase of the club, installing Rudi Garcia as coach and proudly announcing he would attempt to return the club to the summit of European football by emulating their Champions League win of 1992-93.

His so-called "Champions project" has been met with some derision, notably after Marseille finished only fifth last season, 33 points behind title winners Monaco. McCourt admitted the christening of his ambitious plan had given him a problem in the unforgiving culture of European football.

"I would pay a little more attention to certain words I used to describe the project," McCourt said. "In the USA, we speak a little more directly about the objectives we want to achieve. I don't say it's good or bad.

"People say, 'Where is the champion?' But you mustn't forget everything that goes on around it, and that it isn't done in a year. I was perhaps a bit too American, but I'm learning the culture."