Fabrice Fiorèse, Daniel Bravo, Lorik Cana… The bitter failures and great successes of players who moved from PSG to OM

Trained at PSG, Adrien Rabiot became, on Tuesday, the 23rd Parisian player to join the Marseille rival. If some have succeeded in this audacious bet, others have experienced failures.

It’s a resounding arrival. Free of any contract, Adrien Rabiot signed, Tuesday 17 September, at Olympique de Marseille. French international (48 selections), he has been trained since he was 15 years at PSG, and only left his training club in 2019 for Juventus.

After playing 227 matches and wearing the captain’s armband in the capital, Adrien Rabiot is heading for Marseille, following the same path as other players before him, who have worn both jerseys despite the rivalry between the two clubs..

Proven successes for Lorik Cana, Gabriel Heinze and Edouard Cissé

Lorik Cana, revealed under the orders of Luis Fernandez at PSG, was not disturbed by his transfer. The Albanian, who had made a name for himself in the Parisian colours thanks to two high-flying seasons (2003-2005), has, on the contrary, settled in the long term in the Phocaean city. In 2007, he even took advantage of the departure of Habib Beye to become the Olympian captain. The number 19 of OM had notably scored against his former team during his first Classique. He spent four seasons in Marseille (2005-2009).

Gabriel Heinze also started his career in the League 1 at PSG, also under the authority of Luis Fernandez. In the capital club, the Argentinian, who arrived at the same time as Ronaldinho played three seasons at a very good level (2001-2004), opening the doors to the Argentine selection. After stints with Manchester United (2004-2007) and Real Madrid (2007-2009), he then joined OM in 2009, a historic season for OM which won the championship eighteen years after its last title. The South American only spent two seasons in Marseille, also winning two League Cups.

The story ofEdouard Cissé is quite funny. A PSG player for ten years (1997-2007), the A native of Pau, he then went into exile in Turkey, before being called up in 2009 by a certain Didier Deschamps.He explained to me that he was going to take over a League team. 1, without telling me which one (…). It was only later that I learned that it was Marseille, he called me back to ask me what I thought and I told him that it was going to be complicated, that I had a history with PSG ” he explains to 20 Minutes. After thinking about it, he accepted and had two great seasons, with the league and League Cup double in 2009-2010.

Bitter failures for Daniel Bravo, Bruno Ngotty and Fabrice Fiorèse

Coming off an excellent season with the Red and Blue (eight goals and 10 assists), Fabrice Fiorèse leaves Paris for Marseille while he had become the darling of the Parc des Princes. For his return to the capital in the Olympian jersey, the welcome is very warm: “We have Jesus, you have Judas“, could be read on the 7th November 2004 in the stands of the Parc. Right at the start of the match, the midfielder was severely tackled from behind by Sylvain Armand.After leaving with loss and crash, they made me live through hell“, Fabrice Fiorèse admitted to So FootThe player trained in Lyon never found his place on the pitch, playing only 19 games. matches with OM during his three-year contract, in the meantime loaned to al-Rayyan (Qatar) and Lorient.

That day, Fabrice Fiorèse had a very complicated return to the Parc des Princes…#PSG pic.twitter.com/eqLBMGaNnA

— History of #PSG (@Histoire_du_PSG) November 7, 2015

The arrival of Bruno Ngotty was also a failure. The decisive scorer in the 1996 Cup Winners’ Cup final between PSG and Rapid Vienna (1-0), stayed in Paris from 1995 to 1998. After an inconclusive stint at AC Milan (1998-2000), he joined Olympique de Marseille for one season. A regular, he only managed nine wins in 30 matches, for a final 15th place for OM in what was still called D1.

PSG legend, with 280 matches played under the colours of the capital club at a time when the rivalry between the two clubs was at its most intense, Daniel Bravo attempted, after a stint at Parma, a return to Ligue 1, at OL (1997-1998) then at OM. At 33 years old, the former French international did not establish himself in the OM squad and was only Eric Roy’s replacement. He left the following summer for OGC Nice, his training club, without leaving an indelible mark on the history of OM.