Report: Marseille sale could mark Bielsa's return

Amid an ownership takeover, troubled Marseille could see the return of embattled manager Marcelo Bielsa a little more than a year after the Argentine suddenly quit his gig with the south-coast struggler.

With Luxembourgian businessman and F1 Team Lotus owner Gerard Lopez reportedly days away from taking over the reins of the club from Margarita Louis Dreyfus, the sale could pave the way for Bielsa's return to the club, according to a report from the Guardian.

While speculation continues to mount concerning the ownership situation at the 1992-93 Champions League winner, Marseille released a statement Monday denying negotiations between Dreyfus and Lopez had been sorted.

"Margarita Louis-Dreyfus formally denies the information published by France Football saying the club was sold. She questions the interest that could have a serious media to disseminate false and unverified information," the statement reads.

"The day the sale of OM is finalized, employees and the City of Marseille will be the first to know and a statement will be released as it should."

Stranger things have happened at the club mired by a downward spiral of form, and a return for Bielsa would be just the latest in a long line of bizarre moves.

Bielsa is no stranger to leaving an appointment on a whim. His last tenure with Marseille ended because of alleged friction between he and Dreyfus, only for the 61-year-old to quit his next position at Lazio two days after his hiring was announced.

Should Bielsa return to the Stade Velodrome, he'll boss a side that is far different than the one he managed from May 2014 to August 2015.

Star striker Michy Batshuayi has made a high-profile move to Chelsea, while veteran shot-stopper Steve Mandanda also made the London switch to Crystal Palace. Georges-Kevin Nkoudou will join those two in the English capital after finalising a move to Tottenham last week, while full-backs Benjamin Mendy and Brice Dja Djedje have also jumped ship.