Marseille Appoint New President

French football giants Olympique Marseille have appointed Stéphane Richard as their new president amidst a turbulent season that has seen three changes at the top administrative level, according to the Associated Press.

Richard, 64, a former CEO of French telecommunications giant Orange, will take over from Alban Juster, who served as interim president following the departure of Pablo Longoria. Richard is set to assume his duties as club president on July 1st.

Marseille parted ways with Longoria last month, following disputes surrounding the dismissal of coach Roberto De Zerbi. De Zerbi, who quickly found a new role at English club Tottenham, left Marseille after a crushing 0-5 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain and a humiliating exit from the Champions League, losing 0-3 to Belgian side Club Brugge in the final group stage match.

Olympique Marseille made history as the first French club to win the Champions League in 1993, a record they held until last year when Paris Saint-Germain replicated the feat. However, those glory days are long past, with PSG now the dominant force in French football, and Marseille having not won a major trophy since the League Cup in 2012.

Marseille's 67,000-seat stadium, the Stade Vélodrome, has been known as the Orange Vélodrome since 2016, a naming rights deal that coincided with Richard's tenure at the telecom company. While Richard is not a native of Marseille, a fact that raised some eyebrows, he addressed these concerns directly during his press conference.

Richard stated his affection for Marseille – where he completed his baccalaureate and owns a home – and revealed he regularly attends matches, particularly against fierce rivals PSG.

“I know the city very well and I know the context of the club,” he said at a press conference on Friday. “I love this stadium, I love coming here. Every time the team wins – for example against Paris Saint-Germain at the start of the season, the atmosphere is wonderful,” said the new head of the Riviera club.

American club owner Frank McCourt revealed that Richard's candidacy stood out among many others, and the deal was sealed during a lengthy dinner in London. “I told myself he was the ideal person,” said McCourt, who took over the club in 2016. “The right person to lead this project.”

McCourt, 72, a former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, purchased Marseille from Russian-born billionaire Margarita Louis-Dreyfus.