Marseille president lashes out at predecessor

Marseille president Vincent Labrune lashed out at predecessor Jean-Claude Dassier, accusing him of being responsible for the poor financial management that prompted the club's main shareholder to inject ?20 million ($29 million) into the team.

Labrune will take over from Dassier, who was fired last week following a supervisory board meeting.

Labrune told Tuesday's edition of France Football magazine that Marseille owner Margarita Louis-Dreyfus was forced to invest the extra money ''not because it pleases her or to buy players, but because the club's survival on a short-term basis is at stake.''

Labrune said Dassier, who took over in 2009, made several unprofitable moves on the transfer market after Marseille won the league-cup double last season.

''I can't imagine why Marseille would be the only French club buying players at double their price before selling them at half their value,'' Labrune told France Football. ''The truth is that Marseille has been living beyond its means for several years.''

Labrune, who will officially replace Dassier on June 27, found it hard to come to terms with the buying of strikers Andre-Pierre Gignac and Loic Remy for ?30 million ($43 million) last year.

He said that the club spent ?40 million ($58 million) last year to buy new players, twice the amount generated by the sale of players and the money allowed by Louis-Dreyfus.

Labrune was a close ally of the late Marseille president Robert Louis-Dreyfus and was appointed chairman of the supervisory board of the club in 2008.

He said the club's priority was to keep coach Didier Deschamps at the club for the ''next three seasons,'' a goal Marseille already achieved after Deschamps, who had been linked with a move to AS Roma, agreed to extend his contract until 2014.

Marseille finished second in the French league and will play in next season's Champions League.