Marseille, PAOK’s new opponents in the quarter-finals of the Conference League for 30 years, is a high-profile football club. The dark days of Bernard Tapie in her leadership with the scandals of bribery and corruption have scratched her skin deeply and left an incurable wound that will not allow her sordid past to be forgotten. Even if it was associated with brilliant moments that made him sublime in the eyes of many, especially after his death.

The resourceful Tapi was an ambitious gambling businessman who gambled and deceived everyone for a few years by offering fleeting pleasures, but in the end he lost. It crashed into the rocks.

Inevitably, his crimes won the Olympian glory that carries the “miasma” and has earned enemies from every length and breadth of the country. The core of her fans understands that, sits on her neck and reacts. Mostly wild. With (wild) episodes and (heavy) conflicts. He judges how he is wronged, and in this way shows that he suffers and does not endure. It’s always against laws or morals and demands.

It is the marked south that rebels against the French status quo of the rest of the territory. Rarely separating good from evil, he sets everything untouched, sometimes against his own. The volcanic velodrome spawns hot lava and those who survive are lucky. Nobody stays unharmed. Footballers, employees, shareholders. Unless they demonstrate the ability to guarantee success. Either way. Or cost.

The new owner’s American dream

Since August 2016, ownership of the club, which belonged to widow Dreyfus following the death of Robert-Louis, has passed into the hands of Frank McCourt, who is still fighting to make Marseille a giant.

5.5 years ago, the (now 68-year-old) American businessman crossed his own Rubicon, which was the shape of the Atlantic Ocean and not a simple river, and entered Europe to continue his involvement with sports organizations that American “trust” had him out of context pushed. For interfering in personal affairs, exposing himself and damaging his image while adding $2 billion to his fortune in the biggest franchise sale in the history of sport in the United States.

McCourt has always been obsessed with sports projects, and from February 2004 to March 2012 he owned the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the most famous professional baseball (MLB) teams. The descendant of a wealthy Massachusetts family, the Irish immigrant settled in Boston after his great-grandfather and founded one of the most successful road construction companies, which he bequeathed to the closest men in the family.

Armed with the financial comfort of his entrepreneurial father, his great-grandson Frank chose to pursue a different path. After completing his studies in the famous Georgetown, he founded a sole proprietorship dealing with land transfers. It started with a huge area that turned it into a parking lot, anticipating the need and from there he constantly looked for suitable profit opportunities.

The Boston Red Sox couldn’t buy them, neither could the Los Angeles Angels, despite the tempting offer that included building a new stadium. The third and … successful attempt at enlisting in a baseball team happened when he showed his practical interest in the Dodgers. Billionaire Malcolm Glazer tried to ruin his job, but as he was already mired in ownership of another franchise (Buckniers, NFL), McCourt found himself without an opponent and achieved his grandiose goal.

Divorce, embezzlement, accusations

It took less than $500 million to acquire controlling interest. After more than eight years, he would sell the corresponding stock for a staggering amount that, together with the organization’s real estate, exceeded two billion!

First, of course, he had won/exposed anyone who tried to overthrow him. Mainly the league commissioner Bad Schilling. Along with his ex-wife, Jamie, who began the divorce they decided after 30 years of living together, sued for a large chunk of McCourt’s estate, which included 50% of the Dodgers.

True, McCourt was in a difficult position for months and was looking for a way out without scratches. Basically without wasting your own money. The long-standing court battle with Jamie has opened sores. He later confessed that “I had promised my boys there would be no TV series‘ but he hasn’t avoided living in a Californian environment thirsting for ‘pepper’ information and details that can only be seen through the keyhole. Wealth always sells in such cases.

It is said that Jamie McCourt sought it out to showcase the unbridled luxury the couple lived in up until the day they dropped the titles to the end of their lives together. Rumors about “black money” and embezzlement of the Dodgers fund by the established institution became loud.

Complaints have been circulating about nearly $200 million “looted” by the couple for their “wellbeing.” The businessman lost his credit rating and found himself faced with bank shortage problems that prevented him from consistently meeting his obligations to the team. Players and employees did not receive their salaries, commitments were not fulfilled on time, insecurity began to cloud the daily life of the organization.

McCourt believed the deal with Fox would give him the exit he needed to start fresh. The big deal had already been struck in the form of a loan, but MLB leadership blocked the forthcoming agreement with the ultimate goal of getting rid of a guy who was “smearing” the league’s profile by leaving unpaid employees and causing riots in the guaranteed pliability . .

Controlled bankruptcy

The situation started to get chaotic. The defendant acted vindictively, attempting to throw punches below the belt in an attempt to knock out his opponent. The episodes were countless.

“I don’t have a clear answerMcCourt responded years later when asked why the commissioner sought his “annihilation” from the surface. The businessman had decided to sell, but Schilling wanted to control the process on his own terms, essentially punishing him for his inconsistent attitude.

“My goal was to make sure the Dodgers were properly run for their millions of fans going forward. To date, the ideas and suggestions I have been asked for have not been in baseball’s best interests. Mr. McCourt’s actions only further damage this historic franchise‘ Schilling argued.

Along with his attorneys, McCourt made a move that would win the game. A matte blush. He filed for bankruptcy in civil court and gained the advantage where it seemed not to exist. People around him who knew him well would say that while the American businessman was a “money dealer”, he chased the way to make money, but at the same time he didn’t want to be seen as a bad manager leaving his team uncovered . Because he would lose the good testimony from outside and her He wanted to radiate solvency.

Therefore, he defended himself against every accusation that was leveled against him. His lawsuit was called brilliant. He turned to a law firm with expertise and in less than two years found himself with two billion dollars in the vault and a lucrative deal for the surrounding territories to which he had reserved rights.

The big win

In the meantime, the competent court has granted his application. The Dodgers’ financial status naturally changed, the payroll plummeted, the roster was filled with lower-level players. But McCourt clearly had what he wanted: the command to decide what and how to define himself.

He agreed to compensate his wife $131 million before the sale was leaked, and gave the group the price he asked without deviating an inch from the original price. The investment team led by Magic Johnson met all of McCourt’s requirements and became the new owner. Until then, no US sports organization (Miami Dolphins, NFL) had sold for more than $1.1 billion, let alone a baseball team.

McCourt left, but with pockets of dollars swollen. And definitely with your head held high. Virtually bankrupt and proud, he had managed to survive on a savage battlefield.

He found … naked Marseille and bought it for a long time

Marseille became his next big bet. It would be paradoxical for a sports fanatic to stay out of sports for more than three years. He had lost much of his credibility within the walls, but he had to find something else.

The funds required to become a major shareholder were only 45 million euros. Margarita Dreyfus wanted to get out of a torment that was tormenting her, and she didn’t care how. When the opportunity arose, he sold.

In his first interview, McCourt claimed that “Today a new chapter begins in the great history of the Olympic Games, we will put it back on the path of glory“He had a lot of money to make ends meet. By April 2020, the fund’s loss was estimated at over 200 million, mainly due to high salaries and compensation for executives or coaches who were replaced during his tenure.

Qualifying for the Quarter-Finals of the Conference League (and the prospect of winning a European Cup) is keeping him busy for now. It’s the best the club has shown in the 6 years of the controversial American businessman, who turned down the prospect of negotiating a sale with a Franco-Tunisian businessman in 2020. If he does, if he does, it will be on his own terms. It is currently withstanding a (harsh) nuclear environment.