Marseille Put Adrien Rabiot, Jonathan Rowe Up For Sale Following Altercation After Rennes Defeat
Ligue 1 side Marseille placed Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe on the transfer list on the back of a physical altercation following the team's 0-1 defeat at the hands of Rennes in the season opener.
Frenchman Rabiot and English forward Rowe were involved in a heated exchange in the dressing room after their loss to Rennes, who edged out Marseille with a stoppage-time strike despite being down to ten men for over an hour.
Reports suggest that Rowe felt targeted Rabiot by his comments on the player's commitment and went on to slap the Frenchman, before blows were exchanged. Head coach Roberto De Zerbi, his staff and Medhi Benatia stepped in to break up the squalour.
Marseille described the players' behaviour as unacceptable in a brief club statement explaining the decision to put both of them up for sale. Rabiot and Rowe were informed of the decision on Monday.
Initially, Marseille denied reports of a fight. However, a source close to the club confirmed a report from the French sports daily L'Equipe that said blows were exchanged between the two men.
Rabiot, 30, joined Marseille last season after five years with Juventus and helped the club qualify for the Champions League. Rowe, 22, signed from Norwich last year and scored three times in 28 games in his first season in Ligue 1.
This is not his first conflict with a club or country. He left Paris Saint-Germain in 2019 after being sidelined for six months over a contract issue. He also refused to join France's standby list for the 2018 World Cup, and coach Didier Deschamps did not select him for two years as a result.
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