EXCLUSIVE | ‘Marseille and Europe is a true love story’ – Ismaila Sarr looking to ‘honour OM’s glorious history’

“It’s true that the season hasn’t always been easy – I can’t lie about that,” Ismaila Sarr (26) tells Get French Football News. However, despite a turbulent domestic campaign, there is a weight of history behind Olympique de Marseille when it comes to European competition.

Historically, Marseille, the 1993 UEFA Champions League winners, have been France’s representative on the continent having reached the quarter-finals of European competition in 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1999 and reached the semi-finals on eight of those occasions; some things never change, even if France’s European prowess has been diversified of late. OM have made at least the quarter-final stages of European competition on 10 occasions, including this season. 

“OM and European competitions is a true love story – everyone knows it! It’s the ninth semi-final for the club in Europe, which is huge,” says Sarr, who wants to “honour OM’s glorious history.” On an individual level, it hasn’t been all plain sailing for Sarr in his debut season with Les Phocéens. 

The former FC Metz and Stade Rennais winger made his return to Ligue 1, joining from Watford, and has made 11 goal contributions (five goals, six assists) in 32 appearances. “I have had highs and lows. The season is far from over and I can’t make a full report on my season yet, but I know I can and should do better. I’m trying to help the team as much as possible through my play style, by making the difference with my speed and incision most notably, but football isn’t all about stats,” Sarr points out. Indeed, as Luis Enrique alluded to when he referred to Ousmane Dembélé as the “most destabilising player in the world”, Sarr also falls into the category of players who make their impact on the game in less