Marseille head coach Roberto De Zerbi admits Premier League is ‘best league in the world’ but plays down Manchester United job links

De Zerbi, whose playing style and philosophy exhibited during a two-year spell at Brighton propelled him onto the mainstream managerial stage, has been named among the potential candidates to become the next permanent head coach at Old Trafford.

“Marseille is the right place for me, because the people love football and they feel the passion,” De Zerbi exclusively told TNT Sports when asked about United’s latest reported interest.

“It’s a religion more than a sport, and it’s more than a job.

“If you want to work at the club, you have to eat, drink, and sleep football.

‘We are building something special’ – De Zerbi insists his focus is on Marseille

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“At the moment, I feel very good at this club. We’re building something special. (Sporting director) Medhi Benatia, (president) Pablo Longoria, and I are working to make Marseille better.

“I feel my work in the city is not finished. In the future, for sure, the Premier League is a different fashion to any other league in the world, but at the moment, my focus is just on Marseille.

“The Premier League is absolutely the best league in the world, and I have great memories of when I worked in Brighton. It was an amazing experience for me, and I feel the league is getting better and better.”

De Zerbi’s stock has only risen since leaving the Amex Stadium by mutual agreement in May 2024. The Italian has been linked with the Man Utd job on more than one occasion; first when Erik ten Hag was sacked in November 2024, and again this month following the departure of Ruben Amorim.

With Marseille competing towards the top end of Ligue 1 with Lens and Paris Saint-Germain, De Zerbi’s reputation has only been enhanced – but he is far too experienced to allow for the speculation surrounding his next move to impact on the job in front of him.

“I am not so young,” he continued. “I don’t follow the words of the journalists… in the Italian language we say ‘chiacchiere’ (meaning: gossip). I keep my eyes on Marseille and on my team.

Marseille are currently third in Ligue 1 and still in the French Cup

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“We’re trying to reach our target, which is not to win the Champions League but to compete with the bigger clubs.”

Marseille are developing a habit of rubbing shoulders with the elite, having taken PSG all the way to penalties before falling short in the Trophee des Champions in Kuwait.

Being the equal of the defending European champions was a mark of the progress under their head coach, whose competitive edge seen on the touchline at Brighton still seeps from his pores.

“That game was very hard to accept,” De Zerbi mused as he reflected on PSG’s spot-kick success. “Maybe, I will think of that game for a long time in my career because we deserved to win that trophy.

“The last time the club won anything was in 2012 (the Coupe de la Ligue), so nearly 14 years ago. We have to reach our best in Ligue 1, in the French Cup, and in the Champions League.

“Football is a game where, as it starts at 0-0, we can beat any team, but we can also lose against any opponent.”

De Zerbi: We must show our mental fortitude

Marseille brushed off that disappointment at the start of the year and come into their clash with Liverpool in excellent form, having scored a remarkable 14 goals in their last two outings.

The 9-0 thrashing of minnows Bayeaux in the French Cup was somewhat expected, but the 5-2 victory at Angers underlined their attacking potency ahead of the visit of Slot’s side.

“The target now is to play every game with the same quality and the same mentality,” continued De Zerbi. “The problem is not the quality of the players, but it’s more the mental side of the game, which is a problem.

“To accept the pressure of playing for the team in this city, you have to be strong.”

Liverpool have drawn their last four Premier League games, and required late goals from Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike to mask what was a challenging FA Cup third-round win over Barnsley earlier this month.

Highlights: Liverpool come through Barnsley test to reach fourth round

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Slot heard his side booed off the pitch by sections of the Anfield crowd following the 1-1 draw with Burnley last weekend, but the flip side is that the result extended Liverpool’s unbeaten run to 12 matches.

Of the nine points Marseille have taken so far in this season’s Champions League, six have come on home soil, with both Ajax and Newcastle beaten at the Stade Velodrome.

Atalanta did prevail 1-0 back in early November, meaning they are not impenetrable, but De Zerbi believes such a hostile setting can act as a huge advantage to ensure Marseille progress to the knockout stages.

“I think Liverpool are changing,” added De Zerbi, who is only too aware of the dangers of taking Wednesday’s opponents lightly.

Highlights: Aubameyang inspires Marseille fightback to down Magpies

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“They’ve changed a lot of players, and you can’t win every game when you’re playing in the Premier League.

“But having watched the last few games, I feel they are in a good moment. They are alive, and we have to respect them as they’re capable of winning three, four, five games in a row. We have to prepare to be at our best.

“We have nine points on the table, but this is a crucial game. We’re playing against a big team, but at home we would like to play a good game and get a result.”

Hojbjerg: From Zerbi to joy to have as a coach

Marseille midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg hopes to inflict a statement win over the six-time European champions, whose failure to compete for the Premier League title this term makes them no less of an obstacle.

A Champions League winner with Bayern Munich and a veteran of 254 Premier League appearances for Southampton and Tottenham, he is now an integral part of De Zerbi’s midfield, and the objective is to secure at the very least a knockout play-off spot in the final two league phase matches.

“It’s a dream and an ambition as a team, as a club – for the coach and for the players – to continue for as long as possible in this tournament,” Hojbjerg told TNT Sports.

Marsiller Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg alngside The Zerbi

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“We’ve competed in every game so far, and we’ll try our best to do the same against Liverpool, who are the champions of England, to make sure the points end up on our side.

“Liverpool were the best team in England six months ago, and they have so many great players. The last time I played them, they had a fantastic way of playing, and it has changed a little bit, of course, but they are still a great team.

“It’s important to understand that when we play in the Velodrome with the team that we have, every opponent who comes here, life can be difficult, and we hope the same can happen for Liverpool. We stay quite focused on how we want to perform and progress in our work.

“It’s fantastic playing here, honestly. To have this as our home crowd and as our stadium, I’m smiling because it is so nice. You can expect fireworks.”

Highlights: Marseille escape with victory despite spirited USG display

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De Zerbi has an infectious work rate about him on the touchline, which mirrors the industrious qualities of Hojbjerg on the pitch.

The Denmark international has previously worked with top coaches during his career, including Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich, but the 30-year-old would include his current manager among the best he has encountered.

“He’s a good coach and a good guy,” Hojbjerg added. “I like the way he wants to play, it’s fantastic. He’s amongst the best coaches that I’ve had, so it’s a joy to be able to have him as a coach. It doesn’t matter if you’re 25, 30, or 20; he wants to progress every player, and that’s a nice feeling.

“We have to stay ambitious, but also we have to stay focused on working hard. Then, I think we will do great things, but it has to be day-by-day and game-by-game.”