While he thought he was off the air, the former OM player made remarks about the city of Marseille which angered Marseille supporters:
“Just for my son, today he has 2 year.
He speaks Spanish with the nanny, French with us and he is at American School.
It's a crazy thing, just for him,"
he explained before continuing:
"I'm honest, I can't say that on the air, but it's true that when I had the extension offer from OM (…), I said to myself '
my son is 2 years old, it is not possible for him to go to school in Marseille like that
'.
Even me and my wife couldn't take it anymore.
In this conversation supposed to remain "off", the journalist Jean-Louis Tourre, described as "dingoes" the Marseillais.
The mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, wanted to answer: “
Good evening RMC Sport.
FYI: OM is the biggest French club, Marseille its most beautiful city and the Marseillais its most incredible people.
Have a good evening.
#TeamOM
”.
Thauvin later returned to the controversy, first settling his accounts with RMC:
“I am really disappointed, disgusted, I see it as a betrayal because we do not reveal a private conversation publicly.
But I'm not going to give them more importance and talk about it any longer.
And Thauvin to apologize to OM supporters:
“I made a mistake because I didn't react.
I should have reacted immediately and defended ourselves.
I shouldn't have let this pass and for that I apologize to all the people of Marseille.
As for the rest and to clarify the situation, I was simply explaining that I had done the rounds in Marseille, that I needed a change in my life, that it was professional or my private life and that I was proud and happy to be able to offer my son the opportunity to discover a new country, a new culture and the fact that he could learn several languages.
So that's quite simply what I said (...) Everyone knows my attachment so there's no need to go back on that.
I will always be proud, I do
I will never forget where I come from, I will never forget OM, I will always be proud of it and I will always wear the club's colors loud and clear.
Go OM and long live Marseille”
.