Genesio regains control of OM captaincy after management reversal

Bruno Genesio has regained full control of his dressing room: Olympique de Marseille president Stéphane Richard has officially confirmed that the head coach is free to designate his captain, reopening the door to a potential return of the armband to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. “Now, it’s the coach’s decision,” Richard declared.

This episode stems from Marseille’s financial turmoil over the summer. Upon arriving at OM, Genesio had immediately reaffirmed his confidence in the Danish international midfielder, who had been dressing room leader the previous season. But the board had reached an agreement with Newcastle for his transfer, as one of the highest earners in the squad. When Hojbjerg refused to join England, Frank McCourt ordered Genesio to strip him of the captaincy, during the friendly match against Atlético de Madrid.

The head coach had assumed responsibility for the decision in a press conference, while publicly distancing himself from his directors. Defining himself as an employee forced to obey, he expressed his disagreement with the measure without hesitation. Timothy Weah then wore the armband temporarily, against Strasbourg and then Monaco.

Stéphane Richard’s statement closes this episode and restores Genesio to his role as sporting decision-maker. The coach must now decide: returning the armband to Hojbjerg would be consistent with his initial position, but keeping Weah in the role would avoid reopening tensions barely calmed within the group.