Alvaro Gonzalez: ‘I don’t play because Marseille wanted to sack me in January’

In the summer of 2019, Alvaro Gonzalez joined France on loan from Villarreal for Marseille. The following year, Marseille signed him from the Spanish team instead of €4m and last May the 32-year-old extended his contract by 3+1 years.

This season, however, the veteran centre-back has only made 10 appearances for the French club, suggesting the reason for his sideline is the team’s desire to sell him in the past winter transfer window.

Speaking to AS, the Spain international expressed his grievance and stressed that last summer he agreed to cut his salary to allow the club to sign a player.

“The reason why I stopped playing is not a technical one, it’s because of the club who wanted to fire me in January and I didn’t want to leave. I don’t know if I’m a victim. All I know is that they renewed me and that’s when all the problems started.

I had to cut my salary on August 31st so they could sign a player here and although it hurt me I did it because I’m the third team captain and I realized I had to do these things for the club and for my teammates had to do that could be hanged on the 31st. I did everything to register all of us who were there.

From then on, they started to “throw” me in incomprehensible ways, taking advantage of my behavior. Later, they wanted to kick me out in a nasty way, even though I didn’t want it. It was clearly a decision of the club of the coach and everyone around him.

As captain I gave everything for this club, I even cut my salary so they can register a player. I told them at the winter market that I wasn’t going to move. We all know how the January market is, the situation of the teams is not ideal, they are having a hard time. Going there is not the same as going to teams that are doing well, those teams don’t need to change.

I told them to wait until June which is a bigger market with more choice so we stayed. I was told there would be no problem, that I would be respected, that I was a member of the team and that if I ever had to play I would do it. At the moment I’m called up for all games, trying to help the team with my experience where I can and from there I’m waiting to see how this year goes“.