Igor Paixao to Sunderland for €35m: OM fans slam 'bargain' sale

Igor Paixao is on the verge of leaving Olympique de Marseille for Sunderland for around €35 million, bonuses included — roughly the amount the Marseille club spent to recruit him from Feyenoord last season.

The deal is not yet official, but the terms are now well-defined. The player has reached a personal agreement with Sunderland; it remains only to finalize the agreement between the two clubs, a step described as progressing well. OM is approaching these negotiations from a position of weakness: the club is clearly a seller in this summer transfer window and cannot afford to block departures.

It is precisely this context that is frustrating Marseille supporters. Comparison with other recent transactions is painful: Strasbourg sold Diego Moreira for over €50 million, while Lille is demanding between €60 and €70 million for Matias Fernandez-Pardo. In this market, a Paixao departure at €35 million sits poorly.

On social media, frustration is palpable. Several supporters believe that the market value of the Portuguese winger, particularly on the English market where transfers of €50, €80 or €100 million have become commonplace, should have allowed for a much higher asking price. Some suggest a floor of €60 million, others €80 million given the player’s profile.

The pill is all the more bitter because Mason Greenwood’s transfer, which fetched €39 million, follows the same logic. Combined, the two departures do not exceed €80 million, a sum many supporters judge to be below the real potential of the two players sold.