Jonathan Rowe signed for Bologna on Sunday after he was forced from Marseille after a dressing room fight with Adrien Rabiot, putting both players on the transfer list.
Bologna no longer offered details about the transfer, but Italian media report that the Serie A Club agreed with Marseille a fee of 19.5 million euros for Rowe who signed a four -year deal.
Marseille announced Rowe’s departure in a short post on their website and wished him «good luck».
«It has been a roller coaster of emotions, but I want to sincerely thank you for the faith and the support you gave me on the way,» Rowe wrote on Instagram in French.
«I don’t want to go into details. I want to concentrate on thanking the players, coaches and back room employees who pushed day after day to fight for the badge.»
Read also: Marseille Coach De Zerbi compares Rabiot-Rowe dressing room to ‘English pub fight’
Rowe, 22, signed for Marseille on loan from Norwich last year and scored three times in 28 games in his first season in Ligue 1, before his move was made permanently in the summer.
But the English international under 21 was offered for sale on Tuesday, in the aftermath of his argument with Rabiot who called Marseille coach Roberto de Zerbi a «bar fight».
The fight started after a 1-0 defeat in Marseille’s opening match of the Ligue 1 season in Rennes, a match that they lost of a stop-time goal after an hour with an extra man.
«It was a fight like I have never seen in football in all my years. For the first time in my career I didn’t know what to say or what to do,» said the Zerbi on Friday.
«I have never seen anything like this. I come from the street, I am used to fighting. But I have never seen anything like that. They tried to separate the bodyguards of the club. Normally they should protect us against others, not against ourselves.»
Club president Pablo Longoria describes the incident as «extremely violent» in an interview with AFP, but on Saturday the Zerbi said he hoped that the relationship between Marseille and Rabiot could be «repaired».
Marseille defeated Paris FC 5-2 on Saturday to get a season that will also include Champions League football.
Italian cup holders Bologna started their Serie A campaign with a 1-0 defeat in Roma, also on Saturday.
Published on August 24, 2025
