In 2019, Olympique de Marseille came close to making a significant summer signing with Senegalese striker M’Baye Niang, fresh from a French Cup triumph with Stade Rennais. The deal seemed almost done—Niang himself believed he was headed for the Mediterranean coast, but the transfer ultimately collapsed at the last moment.
M’Baye Niang never hid his affection for Marseille, the city where his children were born and his partner’s hometown. Drawn by the OM project and much more motivated by the sporting challenge than lucrative offers from China and Qatar, the former international was eager to make the move. He revealed, “I was already at OM in my head. My agent told me about it, I said: ‘Yes, I want to.’ Because there was an offer of 20 million euros, I think.”
The story took an unexpected turn with the arrival of Pablo Longoria as OM’s sporting director. Just as everything pointed to an imminent signing, Marseille’s strategy shifted. The club put Niang’s case on hold, eventually opting instead for another striker, including Kostas Mitroglou. Niang remains haunted by this missed opportunity: “At first it was on stand-by, then later they took Mitroglou. I didn’t really understand, but that’s football… It should have been me.”
In the end, M’Baye Niang never wore the Marseille shirt, despite strong mutual interest. He was loaned to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia before returning to France with Bordeaux. The club’s decision clearly changed his career path, leaving both regrets and the “what if” of a story that could have transformed his journey.
