How Marseille missed out on Jeremie Boga.
Aged 6, Jeremie Boga joined ASPTT Marseille until the age of 13. It was his local boy's club, but not professionally affiliated with the club Marseille itself. Even though Boga was only a stone's throw away from the Vélodrome [Marseille's stadium], Marseille surprisingly failed to signal their interest until it was too late.
Franck Borelli (ASPTT Marseille Sporting Director) - "There was Auxerre, Bordeaux, Monaco, Lyon, Lens, Paris Saint-Germain. His mum was a bit unable to keep up with everything, because everyone of the clubs appealed to her."
Robert Caturegli (Former ASPTT Marseille President) - "When he was that age, practically all of France's top clubs were ringing me. He was a kid that was shining as a player, everybody was talking about him - the fact that they [Marseille] didn't register their interest until after other clubs surprised me."
Born and raised in Marseille, Boga decided to join Chelsea Football Club. The move shocked many, but Boga has quietly proved his critics wrong.
"Then one day the parents came to say that they they'd opted for Chelsea, and that they'd be offered the opportunity to live over there with their family." said Robert Caturegli.
Franck Borelli was also taken aback by the decision. "It's true that when I found about the move, I was really surprised because there were clubs in France that wanted him."
"When you're twelve, you don't read too much into things. I just told myself that I was just going to be playing more football matches and that would please me. It's true that it surprised a lot of people. There was lot of criticism 'yeah he's leaving too soon and too young' things like that. But frankly afterwards my family and myself didn't think too much about that and I don't regret that at all and I think I've progressed a lot." Said Boga.
Jeremie Boga has a bright future ahead of him. One Marseille may regret in the coming years.
Thank you to @IsMiseBrendan for his translation of Jeremie Boga's interview with Bein Sports.
