Mehdi Benatia, one of the sports officials at Olympique Marseille, revealed in an interview with RMC radio that the club made an attempt last summer to strengthen its squad. Benatia confirmed that he sought to negotiate and meet with Belgian football star Kevin De Bruyne, who was available as a free agent at the time.

Benatia's goal was to explore the possibility of the former Manchester City player joining coach Roberto De Zerbi's project, believing that "the compatibility between De Bruyne and the coach would be excellent."

Despite Benatia's ambition and desire to complete a major deal, the attempt ultimately failed. Benatia explained that De Bruyne had already reached advanced and decisive stages in his negotiations with the Italian club Napoli, which succeeded in convincing him to sign and join their ranks, turning away from Marseille's temptations. Benatia also pointed out that free agents, although available, are not truly "free," referring to the high financial demands involved.

After the failure of the De Bruyne deal, Benatia did not stop his efforts to strengthen Marseille with prominent names. The sporting director clearly revealed that he ruled out trying to sign Antoine Griezmann, knowing that he would renew his contract with Atlético Madrid.

Instead, Benatia turned his attention to trying to sign defender Wesley Fofana, who has roots in Marseille, as well as attempting to attract two or three other free agents in an effort to strengthen the squad that has seen many key players leave.