Roberto De Zerbi reportedly gave an astonishing team-talk to his Marseille squad - by revealing he'd turned down a summer offer from Manchester United.

The 45-year-old former Brighton manager was strongly linked to the top job at Old Trafford before opting for Marseille, even after United extended Erik ten Hag's contract. With Ten Hag now sacked and Ruben Amorim reportedly set to replace him, it seems De Zerbi may have been high on United's shopping list.

So, according to French outlet L'Equipe, ahead of Marseille's first game of the season, De Zerbi made a real statement-to-remember as he brought out a projector with United's lucrative contract offer. The message was pretty clear: "This is where I could have been, but I put passion above paychecks. I came to Marseille for the love of the game."

It seemed to have struck a chord. Marseille went on to storm to a 5-1 victory over Stade Brest and started the season in dominant fashion. Since that blistering start, however, the team has hit a rough patch, winning only two matches of the last six and falling nine points behind the leading teams in Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain.

It all came to a head on Friday as Marseille fell 3-1 to Auxerre, and it's said that De Zerbi held nothing back in a rather dramatic post-match dressing room rant, calling out his players for "humiliating" him and the club.

The emotional De Zerbi suggested he could leave the club during his postmatch press conference: "If I'm the problem, I am ready to go. Without compensation, because I am not here for the money. I came to Marseille for the Velodrome, to feel the passion of the supporters. But if I am not able to make the same fire in my players, this is my fault.

With tensions higher than ever, the question is now whether De Zerbi can rally his team or if he'll make good on his promise to walk away from the French side.