Pau López: “We don’t deserve to wear the Marseille jersey.” | OneFootball

Absent from Olympique de Marseille’s 1-0 defeat against Stade Brestois on Sunday, Pau López (29) was nonetheless searing in his criticism of the club’s recent form.

López was unavailable for the trip to Brest and he was therefore replaced by Ruben Blanco between the sticks. Despite playing the last 30 minutes of Sunday’s clash against 10-men, Marseille lost thanks to a late winner from Pierre Lees-Melou. Les Phocéens are yet to win in Ligue 1 in 2024, their last win coming on 17th December, whilst their away form is the worst in France’s top flight.

For López, Marseille have hit rock bottom, and he did not hold back in his criticism of his fellow teammates. “I think we’ve decided to put ourselves in the sh*t and now we have to take responsibility because there are three months left, three difficult months. We have to be honest with ourselves, we don’t deserve to wear the Marseille jersey,” he began.

“Since I arrived at OM, it is the first time that I’ve had such a thought. That’s not what wearing the Marseille jersey is about. We have to accept that. I am tired of talking and finding excuses. It’s over. Finished. Now, we’re all in the same boat. We can’t continue like this,” added López.

Gattuso alludes to Marseille relegation fears

The Spanish goalkeeper also believes that the players are playing for their future at the Vélodrome. “If we’re asked to leave at the end of the season, we have to leave. Everyone. We can’t play here. We can’t play with this mentality […] we have hit rock bottom. I don’t think we can go any lower. We are sad, disappointed and tired,” he said.

His words echoed those of manager Gennaro Gattuso, who also believes that OM have reached “rock bottom”, however, he did nonetheless allude to fears of relegation. “The truth is that we’re going to have to start looking behind us. We can no longer speak about Europe. We just need to take the necessary points to be calm in the standings,” said the Italian.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle