Celtic fans were unhappy with Ntcham’s move but their anger was nothing compared to that of Andre Villas-Boas
Olivier Ntcham might have thought he’d left managerial crises behind after leaving Neil Lennon’s Celtic, but he’s walked straight into another farce.
The French midfielder sealed a deadline day move to Marseille, with the Ligue 1 side agreeing a loan with option to buy.
It appears today, however, that manager Andre Villas-Boas was not in favour of the move.
As reported by the Express, the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss has offered his resignation in protest at the signing of Ntcham.
They quote him as telling a press conference on Tuesday: “I haven’t heard back from the board yet about my offer to resign.
“I just want to leave Marseille. I am not asking anything else from the board.”
Record Sport quote him as saying: “This is a decision not made by me.
“He’s a player I specifically said no to. I learned about it when I woke up and went on the number 1 OM website.
“I submitted my resignation, saying that I didn’t agree with the sporting policy.
“Management didn’t give me final say on things. I don’t want money, I just want to go.
“The club has been through two or three years of just doing anything on transfers and I don’t want to accept that.”
Ntcham has struggled for game time this season, making just 14 appearances as Lennon’s team exited three cup competitions and fell 23 points behind Rangers in the title race.
Supporters of the Scottish club were left disappointed by reports that the club would stand to earn significantly less than the £9m that had been mentioned.
Sky Sports reported that, if Marseille take up the option, Celtic will receive a fee of just £4.5m in the summer.
As quoted by Glasgow Live ahead of the Frenchman’s departure, Lennon told a press conference: “I have spoken to Olivier over the two years since I have been here.
“I think he is looking for a fresh start or to progress his career elsewhere and he’s made that clear over a long period of time.”
Ntcham arrived at Celtic Park from Manchester City in July 2017 and went on to make a total of 141 appearances for the club, scoring 24 goals.
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