The recent Qatari oil-infused rise of PSG and the Russian billionaire-funded ascent of AS Monaco has seen the two French clubs loom large over the transfer window.
For followers of French football, it might be about time that Ligue 1 had a number of big hitters mixing with Europe’s elite clubs, even if there is some disquiet concerning the lack of romance involved in going down the Manchester City and Chelsea route.
Yet it is exactly 20 years ago since French football did reach the pinnacle of European football in the shape of Olympique Marseille.
A match-fixing scandal saw the Mediterranean club relegated from the top flight, stripped of the 1993 Ligue 1 crown and endure an 18-year league drought that only ended in 2010.
Yet they are still the only French club to have a Champions League trophy as UEFA never stripped them of that title. But it is a tainted triumph and it is often easy to forget that Les Phocéens have their name eternally etched on the trophy.
It is cold comfort for a club that rose to the top of European football at a key time in European football. But where would they be now if they had either not committed match-fixing or not been caught?
A mural depicting the flamboyant former owner Bernard Tapie
Ironically, Marseille were the first ever winners of the modern Champions League format and if they had played by the rules, there is a chance that they could have continued to be a big player on the European scene.
Marseille had many things on their side. Counting on France’s biggest fanbase, they are the only club - along with PSG - that can draw on fans from beyond the boundaries of their own city.
They were also cash rich thanks to their wealthy owner Bernard Tapie (he was jailed for his part in the '90s scandals) and possessed a strong squad. Tapie, with a Roman Abramovich-esque obsession for continental glory, had a vision of turning the club into a European powerhouse by winning club football’s most prestigious prize and recruiting the likes of ex-France captain Didier Deschamps, Ghanaian star Abedi Pele, Marcel Desailly and 1991 Ballon d’Or winner Jean-Pierre Papin.
That base could well have kept the club perpetually plugging away at the top table of European football during the early years of the Champions League’s money-spinning existence.
And perhaps one could argue that Marseille were less susceptible to the Bosman ruling than another top 90s team from a secondary European league like Ajax, due to their financial clout.
It is pure speculation of course, but one can still categorise the last two decades as a lost opportunity for Marseille who still find themselves among the 20 most valuable clubs in Europe despite yo-yoing in and out of the Champions League and struggling with significant debts.
In particular the seven year gap without Champions League football between 1993 and 2000, was a period when they could have accrued significant amounts of revenue especially as that period no French club was able to achieve pre-eminence domestically and Marseille would have had a head start if it were not from relegation.
