Present on The Bridge show, Medhi Benatia spoke about Jonathan Clauss, who left Marseille to join OGC Nice in the summer of 2024. Shortly after arriving in Marseille, he had highlighted the behavior of the French international, which had been complained about by Gennaro Gattuso, the coach at the time. It’s a choice he still stands by today.
Just a few months after arriving at OM, Medhi Benatia made a notable appearance on Canal Football Club in February 2024. He questioned the investment and behavior of Jonathan Clauss, the French international (14 caps) at the time.
“Clauss was not a difficult choice for me”
“I arrived in November, I was warned about two or three players whose behavior was sometimes a bit off. Jonathan was one of those players. I know he had been called to the coach’s office several times to explain what was expected of him in terms of attitude, as a leader and French international. We thought the message had gotten across, unfortunately, it hadn’t,” explained Medhi Benatia, who revisited the topic on The Bridge show with Aurélien Tchouameni: “Clauss was not a difficult choice for me.”
“I stood by my decision until the end”
“I think he’s a good guy. When you know him, from the outside, he’s a funny guy, he’s jovial. Unfortunately, I arrived in a season with a lot of problems, no results, Gattuso was very angry about certain behaviors. And unfortunately, he complained about Jonathan’s behavior,” added Medhi Benatia. “So we take him, we explain what we expect from him, he’s a French international, he should set an example, etc. Unfortunately, it doesn’t change. So, shortly after arriving in Marseille, I come out and say: ‘But here, the behaviors are all over the place.’ I see things, and then they tell me: ‘Yeah but wait, it’s harassment,’ ‘how can he talk like that?'” It’s nonsense to talk like that about a football player, etc. I stood by my decision.” Pushed towards the exit in the winter of 2024, Jonathan Clauss eventually left OM the following summer to join OGC Nice.
