U.S. men’s national team winger Timothy Weah looks set to leave Juventus ahead of the 2025–26 European season, with a move to Ligue 1’s Olympique Marseille reportedly lined up.
Weah, 25, joined the Serie A giants in 2023 but struggled to make a significant impact and looked to be outside of head coach Igor Tudor’s plans for the upcoming season. Tensions became frayed. Last week, Weah’s representative, Badou Sambague, spoke out against Juventus general manager Damien Comolli, accusing the Turin club of showing “total disrespect” to his client after Comolli criticized Weah’s push to join Marseille over other clubs.
“The player wants to go to Marseille, but in soccer you can’t choose a team because if the right offer doesn’t arrive, you stay on the sidelines,” Comolli fired back. “And the offer hasn’t arrived yet.”
Now, it appears as though a deal will be done. Marseille have “verbally agreed” to loan Weah for the 2025–26 campaign in a deal which includes an obligation to buy, per Fabrizio Romano. The Ligue 1 outfit are expected to pay €1 million ($1.16 million) for the loan through the end of the season before committing to a €14 million ($17.4 million) transfer fee next summer.
The clubs have also reportedly agreed on €3 million ($3.48 million) of add-ons and a sell-on clause for the player who scored seven goals in 78 matches with the Bianconeri.
Signing with Marseille, Weah joins demanding Italian manager Roberto de Zerbi. He also returns to France’s top flight, where he previously had stints with Paris Saint-Germain and Lille. With the latter, Weah scored eight goals in 107 matches, helping them win a surprise Ligue 1 title in 2020–21.
The new club and return to the league should also set Weah up for regular minutes ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted in North America, where he could be among the key pieces for the USMNT.
This summer, Weah was unable to join the USMNT for the Concacaf Gold Cup due to Juventus FIFA Club World Cup commitments, but only played 45 minutes in their four matches through the quarterfinals of the tournament.
With Marseille, he becomes the latest North American to join the club alongside Canadian center back Derek Cornelius. He will hope for a better fate than another Canadian, Ismael Koné, who had a very public falling out with De Zerbi and is now at Sassuolo in Serie A.
Marseille open the Ligue 1 season against Rennes on Aug. 15, and will also compete in the 2025–26 edition of the UEFA Champions League.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Report: USMNT’s Tim Weah Nears Conclusion to Stormy Transfer Saga.