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The turmoil following last Friday’s disastrous loss to Rennes could result in two major player departures from Marseille.

Conflicts between teammates are more common than most fans realise. Footballers, driven by intense competitiveness, often find emotions running high, especially when under pressure to win trophies or secure starting positions.

Disagreements on the training ground or inside the dressing room are hardly unusual. On occasion, we’ve even witnessed on-field fights between colleagues — the infamous Kieron Dyer versus Lee Bowyer clash in the Premier League remains one of the most memorable examples.

Such confrontations can sometimes serve a positive purpose by clearing the air in a tense squad. However, Marseille’s post-match meltdown on Friday night appears to be far from constructive and has raised serious concerns for Roberto De Zerbi and his players.

The French club has taken the matter seriously, with Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe expected to be sold following their involvement in the Rennes dressing-room altercation. Questions are also being raised about De Zerbi’s ability to restore discipline and unity within the squad.

Opening-round setback

De Zerbi’s first campaign at the Stade Velodrome was typically stormy but ultimately promising. The outspoken Italian guided Marseille back to the Champions League with a second-place finish in Ligue 1. With the club having strongly supported him in the transfer market — signing talents such as Angel Gomes, Facundo Medina and Igor Paixao — there was genuine optimism about a potential title challenge against perennial champions Paris Saint-Germain.

That optimism quickly turned to anger after a dreadful season opener at Roazhon Park. Despite Rennes being reduced to 10 men following Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal’s red card just past the half-hour mark, Marseille failed to capitalise and were stunned in stoppage time when Ludovic Blas scored the only goal of the match.

‘We have small balls’

Things escalated further in the dressing room after the defeat. Accounts differ on what precisely unfolded, but journalists waiting nearby reported hearing loud shouting, allegedly due to a confrontation between Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe. Some sources claim Rowe even struck Rabiot after being accused of not putting in enough effort.

A furious De Zerbi reportedly told his team, “The others beat us on the pitch, and we come in here and fight among ourselves. You know what that means? That we have small balls. In Marseille, we need to have big ones.”

‘Unacceptable behaviour’

According to Ici Provence, De Zerbi cautioned his players, “This is the last time this will happen.” The seriousness of that warning soon became clear.

Both Rabiot and Rowe were suspended immediately and barred from training on Monday. Initially, it was assumed they would soon return after making a charitable donation as punishment. However, RTL later reported that De Zerbi informed sporting director Mehdi Benatia and president Pablo Longoria that he wanted both players gone. Consequently, Marseille placed Rabiot and Rowe on the transfer list on Monday evening “due to unacceptable behaviour in the dressing room after the match against Stade Rennais FC, in consultation with the coaching staff and in accordance with the club’s internal code of conduct.”

‘Incomprehensible’

Even though Rowe only joined permanently this summer — after scoring the winning goal for England Under-21s in the European Championship final in June — he seems ready to move on and is reportedly set to sign for Bologna in Serie A.

Rabiot’s camp, however, is far less accepting of how the situation has been handled. His mother and agent, Veronique, is reportedly frustrated with Benatia’s lack of communication and with claims that De Zerbi accused Rabiot of showing “a lack of commitment.”

It’s surprising that De Zerbi appears determined to sell Rabiot, considering he was one of Marseille’s most influential players last season and a key leader in the dressing room.

Rabiot’s lawyer, Romuald Palao, told RMC Sport, “It’s incomprehensible. Adrien has been extremely committed to the Marseille project for nearly a year and feels deeply connected to it. He thought that after the weekend, things would calm down and training would resume normally. So, when we heard he was on the transfer list, we were completely shocked.”

‘When you want to drown your dog, you say it has rabies’

Palao further accused the club of using the altercation as a pretext to offload the 30-year-old midfielder. “When you want to drown your dog, you say it has rabies,” he remarked. “Yes, we question the club’s communication. What happened in the dressing room, happened. But to claim that the player’s behaviour has recently changed — that’s false. Completely false!

“There’s an element of fabrication here. They’re using Friday’s incident as justification to push Adrien out. Why? I don’t know. You should ask them that question.”

Palao also questioned Marseille’s transfer stance, as the club reportedly wants €15 million (£13m/$17.5m) for Rabiot, who has been linked with a move to Galatasaray. “You can’t say you want to part ways with a player and then demand absurd sums,” he added. “€15 million is huge.”

‘We are victims’

Club president Pablo Longoria strongly rejected accusations that Marseille mistreated Rabiot, insisting that the midfielder had been part of “an incident of extreme gravity and violence, something unheard of.”

“Do you think that I, as president of Olympique de Marseille, am happy to face such a situation with one of last season’s most important players — someone I’ve called an example? Honestly, as a club, we are victims here. We’re enduring this,” Longoria told AFP. “We had to act after an incident that crossed every acceptable boundary within a football club, or any organisation.

“This decision protects the club and the season. Roberto De Zerbi has been coaching for 13 years, Mehdi Benatia has been involved in top-level football since he was 22, and I have 20 years of experience in the game. Between us, we’ve never seen anything like this in a dressing room.”

The long-term impact of this scandal on Marseille’s season remains uncertain. Saturday’s clash with Paris FC might offer some clues. For now, though, even by the chaotic standards of one of football’s most unpredictable clubs, this episode stands out as extraordinary.

Friday’s dreadful performance at Rennes didn’t just cost Marseille three points — it may end up costing them two key players as well.