Roberto De Zerbi reportedly told his Marseille players that he rejected an offer from Manchester United to move to the Ligue 1 club.
De Zerbi was linked with United before he took the Marseille job over the summer following his departure from Brighton.
The Italian was touted as a potential candidate to replace Erik ten Hag before the Dutchman was handed a contract extension in July.
United later sacked Ten Hag less than six months after that extension and his successor Ruben Amorim will start work on Monday.
But Amorim may not have been United’s first choice.
Marseille manager Roberto De Zerbi (centre) reportedly told his players that he rejected a contract offer from Manchester United prior to accepting his current job
De Zerbi had been touted as a possible replacement for Erik ten Hag (right) at Old Trafford
According to L’Equipe, De Zerbi used a projector to show his Marseille players a copy of the contract he had been offered by the Old Trafford outfit.
De Zerbi allegedly told his players: ‘This is where I could have been, but I put my passion before money. I came to Marseille for the passion.’
He is said to have made his statement before Marseille’s first game of the season, which they won 5-1 away at Stade Brest.
Since then Marseille have won five of their next 10 games but they were humbled at home on Friday night when they lost 3-1 to Auxerre.
De Zerbi mentioned money again in his post-game press conference on Friday.
‘If I’m the problem, I’m ready to leave,’ he fumed at reporters. ‘I’ll leave without the money, I don’t care about all the rest.’
De Zerbi is said to have earlier fumed at his team in the dressing room by telling them: ‘You humiliated me, you humiliated our club in front of our fans.’
Friday’s result left Marseille with 20 points from their first 11 league fixtures this season.
A frustrated De Zerbi pictured biting a ball during Marseille’s loss at PSG earlier in the season
Marseille now sit third in the Ligue 1 table – nine points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain.
De Zerbi is under contract with Marseille until June 2027.
Marseille are the eighth club he has led during his managerial career – after Darfo Boario, Foggia, Palermo, Benevento, Sassuolo, Shakhtar Donetsk and Brighton.
Former United striker Mason Greenwood is Marseille’s leading scorer this season with eight goals.
Greenwood scored a penalty in Friday’s 3-1 defeat. His goal came after Lassine Sinayoko, Gaetan Perrin and Hamed Traore had all found the net for Auxerre.
