Aguerd ready to leave OM ten months after arrival thanks to €15m clause

Nayef Aguerd may have spent only a single season at Olympique de Marseille. According to La Minute OM, the entourage of the 30-year-old Moroccan international defender is actively searching for a new club for him this summer, barely ten months after his arrival from West Ham.

Acquired for approximately €23 million on September 1, 2024 — one of the flagship signings by football director Medhi Benatia during the summer transfer window — Aguerd ultimately played only 22 matches across all competitions during his first and possibly only season in the Olympique jersey.

What makes this departure possible is a contractual clause revealed earlier this week: the player would have the option to leave Marseille after just one year, in exchange for a fee of €15 million. Only a doubling of his current salary could keep him, a prospect difficult to envisage given the club’s tight financial situation.

OM would thus find itself in the uncomfortable position of selling a defender recruited at a high price with a significant loss, without having been able to get the best out of him on the pitch. The clause, originally designed to reassure the player when he signed, is now working against the club.