Ex-Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa settles legal issue with former club as president brokers deal

Bielsa, who led the Whites to a Championship title and promotion to the Premier League during his three-and-a-half-year Elland Road tenure, had been claiming €3m in damages from OM. But on Tuesday Marseille Labour Court, which was presiding over the disagreement, was informed that the two parties had come to a settlement, the terms of which have not been published.

The Argentine coach resigned from his position at OM in August 2015, just after the Ligue 1 season had begun. Seven years later he filed for damages, citing contractual fault over a promised pay increase. According to L’Equipe the €3m claim included €2,775,000 for wages that should have been paid for the 2015/16 campaign, €20,000 for non-pecuniary damage, €180,000 in compensation for damage to image and notoriety and €131,870 as compensation for tax damage.

La Provence, meanwhile, report that OM president Pablo Longoria, appointed in 2021 after a spell as director of football, dealt directly with Bielsa in negotiations to end the dispute. The two are said to have had cordial conversations on the phone before coming to an agreement, with Bielsa’s honesty hailed by the Marseille camp.

In February 2021 Bielsa appeared in court via video link as he claimed a sum of around €18m from another former employer, Lille, after contesting their claim of serious misconduct when he was fired in 2017. A disputed pre-contract was at the heart of that court case. La Voix du Nord reported in July 2021 that Bielsa has lost his case against Lille and was ordered to pay €5k to the Ligue 1 club in court costs, although his legal representative Benjamin Cabagno told La Voix du Nord: “There will obviously be an appeal.”

Bielsa was sacked by Leeds in February 2022 with the club slipping into a relegation battle. His first season at Elland Road ended in play-off heartbreak but his second brought promotion glory and in his third he led the Whites to a top 10 finish in the English top flight.