Former Everton striker Neal Maupay is now finding himself frozen out at Olympique Marseille according to a report
Neal Maupay of Olympique Marseille poses during the official UEFA Champions League portrait session on August 12, 2025 although he was later left out of the club's squad for the competition
Neal Maupay of Olympique Marseille poses during the official UEFA Champions League portrait session on August 12, 2025 although he was later left out of the club's squad for the competition
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Neal Maupay shared an image from jailbreak film The Shawshank Redemption when he left Everton for Olympique Marseille but now he finds himself trapped there as his move has turned into a nightmare with the player frozen out under Roberto De Zerbi, according to a report.
In August the Ligue 1 club confirmed Maupay had signed for them on a loan deal from Everton lasting until the end of the season with an obligation to buy for £6million, rising to £10 million if certain obligations were met.
Then Blues director of football Kevin Thelwell had triggered a one-year extension to the player’s contract to ensure the £15million flop who netted just once in 32 matches during his miserable spell on Merseyside did not leave for nothing. However, the Versailles-born frontman’s return to his homeland has now also turned sour.
Maupay has been omitted from the club’s Champions League squad but is not getting a look in domestically either having failed to play a single minute of competitive action so far this season. Citing an article in L’Equipe, Get French Football state: “Neal Maupay wasn’t expecting to still be at Marseille. After a middling first season at the Velodrome, his buy option was triggered, however, he was expected to be quickly shifted on. “Maupay has rarely been prolific and his lack of stats and the arrival of new forwards in the shape of Amine Gouiri (who joined in January), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Igor Paixao was clearly going to further reduce the Frenchman’s game time. However, there were no buyers for the former Brentford and Everton centre-forward, and so he remained at OM but very much on the margins.
“He only participates in the warm-ups and then for the rest of the session, does passes with the assistant manager and laps of the pitch. Maupay is no longer included in matchday squads and is no longer even summoned to team meetings.”
While on loan at Brentford in 2023, Maupay admitted he didn’t enjoy his football on Merseyside and claimed: “the fans made my life really difficult.” He spoke out on social media against Blues supporters when the team were verbally abused on the platform of London Euston railway station in August 2024 after a 4-0 thrashing at Tottenham Hotspur – where he had been an unused substitute.
Then, on December 29, after a 2-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in what proved to be Sean Dyche’s final home game in charge, Maupay took to X to declare that whenever he was having a bad day, he would just check their results and smile.
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