On loan Arsenal defender Nuno Tavares has been filmed accidentally signing a petition demanding that fellow Marseille player Leonardo Balerdi is dropped from the side amid mixed form for the French side.
Marseille were at one point within touching distance of Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint Germain, before being well beaten when the two sides met last month. Since then, they have stuttered, with two draws and one win from their last three games seeing them fall 10 points behind their title rivals, and back into the clutches of third places Lens.
And, though Tavares himself has come under some criticism, it has been nothing compared to stand-in defender Balerdi, who was sent off after just 29 minutes against Strasbourg at the weekend.
This prompted one fan to launch a hunger strike outside the Marseille training ground, along with a petition to remove him from the side. Tavares unwittingly obliges while signing autographs after training, as can be seen below.
Tavares qui signe la pรฉtition pour que Balerdi quitte le club, je vais tout casser ๐คฃ#TeamOM pic.twitter.com/doUFjEJEuJ
โ ๐ป๐๐ก๐โ๏ผ๐โ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ก ๐โ๐๐๐๐โ๐ต (@TheLastPharaon) March 15, 2023
Minutes later, fellow former Gunner Matteo Guendouzi was forced to take action when he was confronted, demanding respect for his teammate, before Marseille icon Jean-Pierre Papin is also spotted trying to defuse the situation.
Guendouzi ๐ซ๐ทest venu prendre la dรฉfense de son coรฉquipier Balerdi ร la fin de lโentraรฎnement.
๐ฅ : @TheLastPharaon #TeamOM
โ ๐๐๐๐ (@Be_OM13) March 15, 2023
What next for Tavares?
If reports are to be believed, Nuno Tavares faces an uncertain future this summer. Though he impressed initially on loan with Marseille, they have since found him tiresome and lazy.
His time at Arsenal was not much more successful either, being substituted before the second half on two occasions and often full of verve in attack while lacking somewhat defensively.
Bought for just ยฃ7m, there is a good chance the Gunners could turn a profit on him should they wish, but another loan could be beckoning.
