Football
Ian Holyman, France correspondent 7y

Frank McCourt: Marseille ready to spend on stars in UCL pursuit

Marseille owner Frank McCourt has said he will add major stars to the squad if it helps the club towards his "ultimate aim" of winning the Champions League.

McCourt, who completed his purchase of Marseille in October, saw them dismantled 5-1 at home by champions Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.

The American businessman has vowed to spend €200 million on strengthening the OM squad in the first four years of his tenure.

And speaking before the defeat to PSG, he told fans invited to ask him questions by RMC: "We're really very interested in the idea of bringing in a great talent, a star.

"But I don't want to bring in a star just for the name. That strategy doesn't work in sport.

"What we want to do is to bring in big players for where we need to improve immediately.

At the same time, we have to develop our own talents, our own players, and help them improve to be able to have a bank of talent in the team."

When his buyout of previous owner Margarita Louis-Dreyfus was completed, Lyon president Jacques-Henri Eyraud said the aim was to add another Champions League to the one won in 1992-93.

"That's the ultimate aim of our project," McCourt said. "It's the end goal of all our decisions and what unites us all behind this project.

"It's possible. It's a dream, yes. But it's an achievable dream."

And he added that he wanted to put an end to PSG's domestic dominance, adding: "I want us to expect to beat PSG and, in the end, we win.

"In fact, I want PSG to worry they'll never beat us again."

^ Back to Top ^