Strategy and results
Upon his arrival,he showed high ambition through a project called "OM Champion" which is based on four axes:sports performance,with the objective of regularly qualifying the club for the UEFA Champions League and making youth training a central point of the club's strategy;fan experience;the club's civic commitment;and finally,its economic sustainability.
Rudi Garcia was appointed coach and Andoni Zubizarreta was appointed sports director.
A budget of 200 million euros spent over two years was announced to build a competitive team. During the first transfer window,in winter 2017,44 million euros were spent on four players,including 30 million euros only for Dimitri Payet who became the most expensive recruit in the club's history.
At the same time,he restructured the club. The voluntary departure plan [15] launched in June 2017 resulted in the end of OM TV in favor of investments in digital content. The OM Foundation was created to promote the club's social commitment. [16]
At the end of the 2017–18 season,Adidas,the club's equipment supplier since 1974,was replaced by Puma,with whom OM signed a five-year partnership. [17]
After several years of negotiations,in July 2018 he announced that he had reached an agreement with AREMA,a Bouygues subsidiary,to become the exclusive manager of the Stade Vélodrome. OM thus recovered all event activities (seminars,visits,concerts) and allowed itself to freely invest in the stadium (sound,light,etc). The creation of a museum near the stadium was also planned. [18]
He ranked 13th in Ligue 1 when he took over the club,and the team finished fifth in the first year and fourth at the end of the 2017/2018 season. The first European campaign ended in a UEFA Europa League final,which was lost against Atlético Madrid. This was the club's fifth European final,and the first in 14 years. Attendance records were beaten at the Orange Vélodrome during the quarter-finals and semi-finals,respectively against RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg. [19]
Step down from president role
In February 2021,Eyraud left his role as the president of OM to instead work in the supervisory board of the club. He had been coming under fire by the supporters of the club,and Marseille was in a complicated situation following poor results on the pitch and the violent incident that occurred at La Commanderie with the fans. Pablo Longoria,previously director of football,replaced Eyraud as president. Earlier in February,OM manager AndréVillas-Boas had resigned,and had been replaced by Nasser Larguet as interim. Jorge Sampaoli would become the new coach in March,signing a contract until 2023. [23]
