Koné’s time at Olympique Marseille may be coming to a messy end

Ismaël Koné’s short time at Olympique Marseille may be coming to a messy end.

And while manager Roberto De Zerbi apparently has plenty to say about the Canadian midfielder’s future, Koné and his representatives are staying quiet.

During a Friday media conference ahead of Marseille’s Sunday match against Nice, De Zerbi reportedly said, translated from French: “Koné is probably going to leave. This is why he was not present at training today.”

When pressed by Montreal reporter Jean-Francois Teotonio of La Presse, De Zerbi underlined the team’s decision.

“It’s the choice the club makes," he said. "We wanted this player, he’s very strong, he’s a good lad, but… over the last few months, he hasn’t shown me that he’s capable of being part of this project. He’s got a lot of competition.”

Koné's agent, Nick Mavromaras, chose not to comment when reached by TSN on Friday.

Koné has made just nine appearances for Marseille since his $18 million summer move from Watford.

Ankle injuries initially kept the 22-year-old from playing or practising regularly. Yet while De Zerbi has praised Koné potential, his remarks on Friday are not the first time he’s been pointed when discussing the Canadian midfielder.

“[Koné] arrived a short time ago, with a lot of physical problems. He must learn to know this championship better,” De Zerbi said last November. “He can do better. He exploited his potential very little. There has to be a mental trigger, otherwise the potential will not be used.”

On the surface, it might be hard to unpack how constructive criticism can devolve into brinksmanship inside just two months.

It's fair to debate if such a public denouncement is even unnecessary when navigating ways to motivate a young, promising player, especially when you consider TSN has learned from sources that De Zerbi and Marseille pursued Koné based solely on his exceptional performance in Canada’s 0-0 against France in Bourdeaux last June.

The other side of the argument is this: De Zerbi’s comment aren’t the first time Koné has been called out by his manager.

During his time at Watford, Koné was indispensable. In a season and a half, he made 63 appearances. But after Koné was 20 minutes late for training in November 2023, his then coach, Valérien Ismaël, sat him on the bench.

"Sometimes when you hear the explanation [about why Kone was late for practice], you have to say that I have no other possibility than to take the decision like I did here...Normally he would have started the game, so he dropped to the bench,” Ismaël said in November 2023. “They are punishing the team and themselves, because we don’t want to be taking good players out of the team.”

Not only do the admonishments sound similar, they're also both clarified in the same way. Everywhere he goes, everyone recognizes Koné's obvious abilities. But rebukes can start to form a reputation; a reputation that might hurt his next move, and ultimately hurt his position with the Canadian men’s national team.

Koné's poise helped Canada’s run to the third place game of last summer’s Copa América, and the Montreal native entered this European club season seemingly on the cusp of becoming Canada’s next, world-class talent, alongside Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David.

Bombast and theatrics are as much a part of European soccer as on-field tactics. The media conference room and the field are equally emotionally charged stages. At some clubs that is more acute than others, and the fervour around Marseille is notorious.

Although the team hasn’t won a trophy in nearly 13 years, its glittering history of nine league titles and France’s only Champions League triumph imbues the club, particularly its passionate-bordering-on-fanatical fanbase, with its outsized expectations.

Around the same time in November that he was aiming public comments at Koné, De Zerbi implied he was ready to leave his job after back-to-back defeats at home. Nothing is good enough at Marseille. In the last decade, the team has had 13 full-time or caretaker managers.

After a summer spent recruiting other notable arrivals – including Adrien Rabiot, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Canadian defender Derek Cornelius – De Zerbi has Marseille sitting second in Ligue 1, nine points behind Paris St. Germain.

His bluster about his own future aside, De Zerbi’s job is probably safe for now. His comments about Koné from the dais are likely an example of a coach using his medium to send a message.

Maybe De Zerbi isn’t helping Marseille guide a young player through a  tough developmental period; and it certainly won’t help Koné's value if he leaves. But perhaps right now not responding in the media is best for Koné.

Now it’s time to listen and act.