Neal Maupay describes the pain of his Marseille isolation under De Zerbi

Neal Maupay has described how deeply his separation from Marseille’s squad affected him under Roberto De Zerbi. It came months after the coach, now at Tottenham, had publicly praised the forward and said he would remain at Marseille for as long as he was in charge. De Zerbi had even called Maupay “like my son”.

Asked by RMC about those earlier remarks, Maupay replied: “I don’t treat my children like that.” He added: “Then everyone has their own methods of education.” The forward described being shut out in practical terms: “When you arrive at training and find your things in a portable cabin at the back of the training ground, when you are alone doing laps of the pitch and you don’t have access to the dressing room, it is normal to suffer. It would be a lie to say otherwise.”

Maupay also said he was kept apart for a large part of the season, training alone and seeing nobody. He described having his belongings separated from the group and being unable to use the main dressing room. De Zerbi had first presented him as an important figure at Marseille; Maupay’s subsequent exclusion from the first-team environment made the experience a difficult one.

Looking back on that period, Maupay acknowledged that it had affected him, while making clear he did not want to dwell on it: “I don’t want to dwell on this, I have to move forward.” He is now seeking to focus on the next stage of his career rather than revisit his difficult spell under De Zerbi.