Marseille midfielder Pape Gueye has claimed it was a “blessing in disguise” that he didn’t end up at Watford earlier in his career.
The 23-year-old has been with the French side since 2020 when he arrived on a free transfer from Le Havre after several years with their youth ranks.
He has been a regular for Marseille since but there has been constant speculation about his future thanks to an ongoing court case involving the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Watford.
Back in January the French side were banned for making transfers for two windows and told to pay Watford €2.5m after Gueye had signed form. The midfielder was also banned from playing for four months.
Those sanctions were put in place by FIFA after a contractual dispute arose between the Hornets and the player, who had signed a pre-contract to join Watford in 2020.
That deal was officially announced in April 2020 with him expected to arrive at Vicarage Road in July of that year, but Gueye reneged, insisting there were irregularities in his contract before joining Marseille instead.
He and the Ligue 1 side have contested the charges, with the case going to CAS and it being delayed until February of next year.
The player has now commented on the issue, continuing to insist there was no agreement in place with Watford.
“There was this non-transfer to this club in England, but I continued to work,” he told Pro Direct Soccer France, relayed by Football Club de Marseille.
“It was a blessing in disguise. There were certain problems in the contract which meant that it didn’t happen. And afterwards, there were several clubs who showed interest, in L1 and abroad.
“At the end of the mercato, there were two or three clubs who called me, and then there was Marseille. Villas-Boas was there, and he called me in person.
“He’s a very good person, I’m always in touch with him. He helped me a lot and I thank him for that.”
