Rudi Garcia to leave Marseille

Marseille, May 22: Rudi Garcia has announced he is stepping down as Marseille coach after a disappointing season in Ligue 1.

Hired in October 2016, Garcia steered Marseille to a fifth-place finish that term, before building on that in his first full season.

The club ended the 2017-18 campaign fourth in Ligue 1, narrowly missing out on Champions League football, finishing just a point adrift of Lyon in third.

But they were unable to maintain that level this season and Garcia had been under pressure for several weeks after a top-three finish appeared to look beyond them.

With the best Marseille can hope for going into the last game of the season now being 61 points - 16 fewer than last season - and a fifth-place finish, Garcia has opted to stand aside.

42% - Marseille have lost 42% of their games in 2018/19 in all competitions (19/45), their worst losing percentage in a single season since 2000/01 (49% - 18/37). Resign. #Garcia pic.twitter.com/WJGmoQ0mKq

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) 22 May 2019

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, former Roma boss Garcia said: "I decided to leave.
"I proposed this solution to my president, who accepted it. If I listen to reason, I must stop this adventure. For the good of the project, it is better that we separate now."

Garcia is contracted to the club until 2021, but he will not see out the remaining two years and shall preside over his final game against Montpellier at Stade Velodrome on Friday (May 24).