A member of the French national youth team is moving from Marseille to Arsenal, despite Marseille's attempts to prevent him from leaving.
"Only a few details need to be finalized, everything is going as planned. Flamini will join Arsenal by signing a four-year contract," - sources close to the Marseille club reported on Thursday.
The coach of the Ligue 1 club, Jose Anigo, refused to confirm the deal, but admitted he tried everything to keep the twenty-year-old defensive midfielder, whom he helped develop into a decent player when he coached Marseille's youth team.
"It's a real betrayal. Flamini deceived me. He didn't sign a professional contract with us only because of money," said Anigo. - "He pretended that he wanted to leave the club because he was not playing enough. Now he will have to compete with Patrick Vieira."
Flamini can leave the club because he did not sign a professional contract. Arsenal will pay compensation, but will not have to pay any transfer fees.
"I will never allow a player without a contract to step on the field again," added the Marseille coach.
Last season, Flamini played 14 matches for the French club, including an appearance in the UEFA Cup final.