FIFA Rejects Olympique Marseille's Request

FIFA has rejected the request from the French football club Olympique Marseille, which sought to sign a contract with Fabian Barthez, the goalkeeper of Manchester United. Marseille intended to sign Barthez as a loan goalkeeper to replace their injured goalkeeper Cedric Carasso before the legal transfer window opened. Barthez, the 32-year-old goalkeeper of the Manchester United champions, is not enjoying the popularity he had when he first joined the team and is currently the third goalkeeper behind American Tim Howard and Irish Roy Carroll. Barthez hoped that this transfer would bring a change to his professional position. Meanwhile, the head coach of the French national football team, Jacques Santini, has indicated that if Barthez cannot establish himself as the first-choice goalkeeper for a prominent team, he risks losing his position as the first-choice goalkeeper for the national team. FIFA announced that Marseille has twenty days to appeal this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. However, the president of the French club, Christophe Bouchet, stated that he would not appeal, and it is time to prevent further losses. It is worth noting that Manchester United acquired Fabian Barthez from Monaco in May 2000 for a record-breaking contract of 13 million dollars. There are still two and a half years left on his contract with United, but his future with the team remains bleak.