Kevin Strootman has confirmed that Olympique Marseille chairman Jacques-Henri Eyraud wanted him to leave the club this summer.
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The midfielder joined Marseille from AS Roma a year ago for a fee of €25 million but his first campaign in France was not a success.
With the club looking to overhaul their squad this summer and Strootman on high wages, chairman Jacques-Henri Eyraud was keen to move him on this summer, but he remained and has started six of their seven games so far.
Speaking a press conference on Friday, Strootman said, “It’s true that he told me that. It doesn’t feel good if someone tells you it is better to leave, but I know how it works in football. Sometimes a player wants to leave but he stays, sometimes a chairman wants to lose a player but there is no transfer. It’s fine this way.”
The 29-year-old feels more at home this season after a chat with new coach Andre Villas-Boas, “My first season here was not good. This year I want to do better. I spoke to the coach and he said to me: “if you stay, you are just a player on this team, and then I will do everything to restore your confidence so that you the team can help . ”
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