'Leave me alone' - Marseille coach Boas reveals details of PSG snub

The coach did eventually make it to Ligue 1, albeit with OM, but said that there was a point when the French champions wouldn't stop calling him

Marseille coach Andre Villas-Boas has revealed that he was approached by Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi in 2013 with a view to replacing Carlo Ancelotti.

Villas-Boas had built a solid reputation as a manager during his time at Porto, winning the Portuguese league by more than 20 points and remaining undefeated throughout. He would also secure a domestic cup and the Europa League to complete an unprecedented treble.

That success, in his first and only season at the club, led to spells at Premier League clubs Chelsea and Tottenham. A decent first season in charge at the latter led to a second, the first time 'AVB' would spend more than a single campaign at a club.

In the off-season, however, Al-Khelaifi had contacted the coach with a proposition. Villas-Boas was keen to stay on with Spurs, though, and continue building on a then club-record points tally achieved in the 2012-13 season.

“I was in the Bahamas with my family,” Villas-Boas recalled to RMC Sport . “Nasser Al-Khelaifi called me every day. I know him because I go to Qatar often. He'd call me and say 'Andre, are you all right? We want to start talks with you. Leonardo will call you for a meeting in the future'.

“So Leonardo calls me and we didn't have a very good conversation. There was no connection between us. I phoned Nasser back and told him that I wouldn't be going to Paris. He asked me what had happened and I told him that the conversation did not go well.

“'I'm trying to relax here, leave me alone', I said.”

Villas-Boas's second season with Tottenham did not go to plan, with the 41-year-old having been relieved of his duties midway through the season.

And having revealed the details of his talks with PSG's hierarchy, the Portuguese has admitted before that perhaps he should have spent more time speaking with the French champions.

Speaking to Corriere dello Sport in 2018, he said: “In the summer of 2013, I received a proposal from Paris Saint-Germain. They wanted me but I refused the offer out of love for Tottenham. Maybe that was a mistake.”