Roberto De Zerbi explains why Marseille opted not to sign ‘great player’ Paul Pogba in January as boss sends out warning to former Man Utd star

Pogba is a free agent after his Juventus contract was terminated. He is still serving a doping ban currently but its reduction to 18 months means he will be available to sign for a club from March. Marseille had been linked with an interest in the former Manchester United star.

Now, though, it appears that De Zerbi has ruled out any prospect of a move for the World Cup winner. While crediting the 31-year-old's talent, he insists that he cannot afford to "unbalance" his squad, with Marseille currently second in Ligue 1.

De Zerbi told reporters: "The balance of the dressing room, nobody could change it. Nobody will unbalance my dressing room as long as I am [the] coach. That was not the problem. Pogba is a very great player, but we had to understand where we could use him once he was available to play, in what role, what position.

"The more champions there are, the happier I am, that wasn't it. It was a general assessment and maybe it will change but at the moment we made this decision due to several factors."

Marseille are next in action against Angers on Sunday. They trail league leaders PSG by 13 points.