Five straight defeats: Ligue 2 relegation no longer taboo at Marseille

Olympique de Marseille sits second-to-last in Ligue 1 after five matches, with four league defeats and a fifth in cup competition, the latest a 1-2 loss to PSG at the Vélodrome on Sunday. In the stands, a banner summed up supporter frustration: “2016: Champions project / 2026: Ligue 2 project?”

The question is far from absurd. The summer was marked by a massive squad overhaul without compensatory recruitment: Greenwood, Rulli, Aubameyang, Medina and Timber all left the club, leaving a depleted squad in the hands of Bruno Genesio. With the remaining players, the Phocaean club must quickly accumulate points when play resumes in three weeks, or risk settling permanently in the relegation zone.

Emblem former goalkeeper Pascal Olmeta makes no secret of his concern. “It’s going to be tough for everyone—the players, the staff, the board. We can’t afford to play at the bottom of the table. It’s unimaginable,” he said. He describes a dressing room potentially poisoned by the negative spiral: “When you lose and play poorly, you live in fear. You need enormous character to get out of it.”

Olmeta goes further and breaks the last taboo: “Relegation to Ligue 2 isn’t something improbable—it’s a reality.” His words echo those of president Stéphane Richard, who himself raised last week at a conference the possibility of a fate similar to that of Girondins de Bordeaux, now excluded from national competitions.