Marseille have offered Andre Villas-Boas a contract extension in order to resolve the issue of “chronic instability” at the club, according to a statement from the Ligue 1 giants.
The former Chelsea, Tottenham and Porto manager replaced Rudi Garcia at the beginning of the 2019-20 season, which Marseille finished in second as the season was cut short.
Initially signing a two-year contract in the summer of 2019, Villas-Boas has now been offered a two-year extension through to the end of the 2022-23 campaign. The offer also includes an extra year on top of that, if Marseille qualify for the 2023-24 Champions League.
Marseille made a statement in response to what was labelled “some erroneous reports in the media about the contract extension”, in order to “re-establish the reality of facts”.
After giving the above details of the contract offer, it read: “For 20 years Olympique de Marseille has been a club that has suffered chronic instability. Twenty-four coaching changes (some coaches have had several roles at different periods) have been issued by OM during this period.
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“Over these 20 years, only three coaches have received a contractual commitment of four years or more: Didier Deschamps, Rudi Garcia and today Andre Villas-Boas with this proposal.
“First of all, this shows the club's desire to create conditions of stability without as a foundation that can be built in the long term in football and in particular at Olympique de Marseille. This also demonstrates the determination of the club to invest when it deems it necessary in the conditions of sporting success.
“Finally, this demonstrates all the confidence the club has in the technical qualities of Andre Villas-Boas, with which Olympique de Marseille wishes to write an important page in its modern history.”
Once the next big thing of European coaching, Villas-Boas has reminded fans of his abilities during an impressive spell at Marseille so far. After his time with Chelsea and Spurs, he confirmed last month that he has no desire to return to the Premier League.
He told Portuguese radio station Radio Renascenca: "I will not go back there. It is the championship with the most investment, the best players and teams, but I like being in a league that includes different game philosophy. This is not the case in England."
