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Le Classique promises to be a ‘special but difficult’ experience for Marseille’s Adrien Rabiot

Le Classique promises to be a ‘special but difficult’ experience for Marseille’s Adrien Rabiot
Le Classique promises to be a ‘special but difficult’ experience for Marseille’s Adrien Rabiot

Once considered to be among the best players at Paris Saint-Germain, Sunday’s edition of Le Classique could be a complicated one for Adrien Rabiot (29).

That’s according to former French defender Jocelyn Angloma. Rabiot will face his old club, PSG, for the first time since signing with Olympique de Marseille.

Like Rabiot, Angloma knows the feeling of playing for each of these rivals, as the Guadeloupean-born defender played one season at PSG in 1990-91 before moving to OM.

According to the current manager of the Guadeloupe national team, transitioning between these two big French clubs is not always a seamless one.

“It’s not easy to address, it’s true. For me, I settled quickly into the Marseille project and it had gone pretty well.

Angloma adds it won’t be as easy for Rabiot because “He lived so many years in Paris, his childhood, it will be special even if he went through Juve. But I do not think we should be worried about him; the Marseille fans will push him,” he says.

Rabiot spent seven years in the French capital, featuring in 227 matches, while his relationship with PSG appeared to go south after being suspended by the team for a night out at a club in March 2019 after his side lost a UEFA Champions League fixture versus Manchester United (3-1).

He’d go on to sign with Juventus, winning the Serie A title with them in 2019-20 while capturing two Coppa Italia titles and a Supercoppa Italiana as well.

Rabiot joined Marseille on a free transfer in September, a surprising move given his rumoured desire to join a Premier League club. Last weekend, he made his first start with OM, playing the full 90 minutes as a holding midfielder in their 5-0 victory at Montpellier HSC.

Coming into this edition of Le Classique, Marseille are three points behind PSG and AS Monaco for first in Ligue 1.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre