25 July 2023 , 16:19
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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's father has labelled his son's spell at Chelsea as a "nightmare" and laid bare the reasons why he has left to join Marseille.
The Gabon international endured a miserable season at Stamford Bridge, having left LaLiga giants Barcelona after just over six months at the Camp Nou to reunite with Thomas Tuchel, then at the helm of Chelsea. Tuchel and Aubameyang worked together at Borussia Dortmund, though their time together in west London was cut short after just one game before the German coach was sacked.
Tuchel was replaced by Graham Potter, who didn't seem particularly keen on Aubameyang and actually left the former Arsenal captain out of Chelsea's 25-man Champions League squad.
Frank Lampard's brief reign as interim boss following Potter's dismissal did very little to kickstart Aubameyang's Chelsea career and current Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino clearly has no interest in giving the 32-year-old a try, as he's allowed him to join Marseille for free this summer.
Aubameyang bids farewell to the Blues after just one season, in which he scored just three times in 21 appearances across all competitions. Only one of those strikes came in the Premier League and he'll be hoping to fare better in Ligue 1 with Marseille, where he has penned a three-year deal.
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The striker's father, Pierre-Francois Aubameyang, has felt compelled to come out and defend his son by reminding his critics of the difficulties the former Premier League golden boot winner has endured both on and off the pitch recently.
"His jaw was broken by robbers at his home in Barcelona while trying to protect his wife and children," Pierre-Francois told L’Equipe. "At Chelsea, he played with a mask at the start. It could only be a nightmare year.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has already played a pre-season friendly for MarseilleMirror Football is now on Threads! You can follow us here.
"Now it’s over. He has a smile. He knows that I’m seeing the light again because I can walk and run since my last operation. And he’s signing for [Marseille]. It is a big relief after the nightmare year that he experienced."
Many fans and pundits alike assumed that after a shambolic spell with Chelsea, Aubameyang's next move would see him head to Saudi Arabia. However, his father has since revealed that once joining Marseille became an option, the forward only had one place on his mind.
"There was contact with Saudi Arabia, but when [Marseille] come forward… who hasn’t dreamed of playing for this club? Especially in Africa. I keep receiving messages from back home."
His switch to Marseille will see Aubameyang reunited with a player that caused almost an equal amount of trouble back at Arsenal as he did in Matteo Guendouzi. The pair enjoyed a stellar relationship back in their Emirates days.