Former Olympique Marseille President Pape Diouf, the
man who mentored Andre and Jordan Ayew, died in his native Senegal on Tuesday
night after being infected with the coronavirus.
After contracting the coronavirus in
his home country of Senegal, he was to beflown to France on Tuesday night for treatment but hecould not stay long for the journey.
According to Senegalese national
television, his relatives confirmed that, Pape Diouf died on Tuesday in Dakar.
He was 68 and is still the only African
to be the President of a major club in European football.
The astute African football executive,
who was president of Marseille from 2005 to 2009, helped the two Ghanaian
players to settle in France when they were at the Marseille academy.
Diouf was close friend of their father
Abedi Pele during his playing days at the French giants Marsielle long before
the former journalist became the club's President.
Pape Diouf was appointed CEO of
Marseille in 2004 and was voted the President in 2005.
An esteemed leader, he was one of the
major players in French football, renowned for his good banter with his Lyon
counterpart Jean -Michel Aulas and his classy way of dressing.
After leaving Marseille in 2009, he
became a sought-after speaker in sports conferences.
Charged in the case of questionable
transfers from Marseille in 2016, the judicial decision was thrown out on
appeal in 2018.
He returned to Dakar in 2018 to be with
his family.
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