�14m Trezeguet Out Of Marseille Price-Range
Monday 14th May 2001
Marseille general manager Bernard Tapie has dismissed reports that the French side are set to take Juventus striker David Trezeguet on loan for next season. "Trezeguet? Stop dreaming. We can't afford him at the moment," admitted the club supremo.
Trezeguet moved from Monaco to Juve for �14 million last summer, but has admitted that he would never have joined the Turin club if he had known he would mainly be used as a substitute.
The outburst sparked a flurry of speculation, with Marseille touted as the favourites to make a move. But Tapie insisted on Monday: "We don't have any money to spend.
"The issue has not even been brought up. We'd have to give him around �150,000 a month. That means we would have to give him �400,000 before tax, without mentioning the social charges."
Trezeguet revealed last month that he was unhappy in Italy. "If I could turn the clock back to last summer, I would not have agreed to come here," said the Euro 2000 final golden-goal scorer.
"I need to play. I'm so sad. I knew the value of Del Piero and Inzaghi before I signed, but I'm as talented as them."
Tapie also admitted recently that Trezeguet's Juve team-mate Zinedine Zidane was out of his price-range. "Zidane is financially out of reach and he deserves it because he is a great player," he said.
But the general manager has confirmed that many players will leave the club in the summer, which could open the door to some new faces. "We have 39 players under contract and at least 20 will have to leave - but I still don't know which ones," he added.
Tapie could recoup a considerable sum by selling forwards Florian Maurice and Ibrahim Bakayoko, who have both struggled to score consistently this year. Maurice is attracting plenty of attention in Spain, while Montpellier are thought to be ready to offer �6 million to get their former player Bakayoko back.
Another striker with a hefty wage packet, George Weah, could also be on his way in the summer. His contract is due to expire next month and the Liberian has also been linked to Montpellier.
Midfielder Jovan Stankovic is reportedly mulling over a loan switch to Belgian club Standard Liege, where club president Robert Louis-Dreyfus also holds a large stake.
Jerome Leroy, meanwhile, has two years left on his contract, but the former Paris Saint-Germain star is certain to leave after he publicly criticised for club, claiming that they were not paying him enough.
