Former Marseille president Pape Diouf has passed away at age 68 after being diagnosed with coronavirus.
The Senegalese were president somewhere in the range of 2005 and 2009 when Marseille completed second in Ligue 1 twice and arrived at two French Cup finals.
They went to win a first French association title in quite a while in 2010.
“Pape will remain in the hearts of the Marseillais forever, as one of the great architects in the club’s history,” Marseille posted on Twitter.
The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) stated: “Journalist, specialist, leader of Olympique de Marseille, Pape Diouf committed as long as he can remember in the administration of football.
“A member of the LFP administrative council from September 2007 to June 2009, Pape Diouf will be remembered as a charismatic and passionate director.”
Previous France and Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse played for Marseille when Diouf was in control.
“Today French football has lost a great man,” he posted on social media. “My sadness is great today. Rest in peace.”
Manchester City’s French protector Benjamin Mendy portrayed his “grief” at hearing the news.
“A great president but above all a huge man, who always worthily represented Marseille and its values. A great loss for French football and the African continent. Rest in peace,” he tweeted.
Beaucoup de tristesse en apprenant le décès de Pape Diouf… Un grand Président mais surtout un immense Homme, qui aura toujours dignement représenté l’OM et ses valeurs. Une grande perte pour le foot français et le continent africain. Reposez en paix 💙 pic.twitter.com/3lqI7VksOv
— Benjamin Mendy (@benmendy23) March 31, 2020
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