Adrien Rabiot acknowledged that Olympique Marseille manager Roberto de Zerbi played a key part in his decision to join Olympique de Marseille, Afrosport reports.
The 29-year-old signed for the Phoecians on a free transfer after his contract with Juventus expired.
He was linked with multiple clubs such as Manchester United but the summer transfer window elapsed without him joining any club.
He however opted to return back to France and join Marseille who have had a blistering start to life under former Brighton & Hove Albion boss De Zerbi.
“I think Roberto De Zerbi needs no introduction. I had the opportunity to play against him, already when he was at Sassuolo,” Rabiot said at his unveiling as a Marseille player.
“We were able to observe that he also did very good things afterwards by offering a beautiful game.
“He is a competitor who wants to win. I recognise myself in that and of course, for me as for the players who came this summer, he was a key part.”
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Rabiot has been capped 48 times for France and was part of the squad that reached the Euro 2024 semi-finals this summer.
Marseille recruited a number of big names in the summer such as Mason Greenwood, Neal Maupay, Elye Wahi and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
They are unbeaten after four Ligue 1 games and are two points behind current champions and Rabiot’s former club Paris Saint-Germain.
