Bielsa's shock exit

Marcelo Bielsa stunned French football on Saturday when he quit as coach of Marseille just minutes after his team had lost their season opener 1-0 at home to Caen.

"I have resigned from my post as manager of Marseille," the Argentine announced at the end of his post-match news conference.

Immediately after his side's lacklustre defeat, Bielsa, who had only been in charge at the Stade Velodrome since May 2014, announced his resignation.

"I have finished my work here, I will return to my country," said Bielsa.

"I thank the fans for always being behind me during games and on a daily basis. I am sad and frustrated. I cannot accept the situation of instability at the club," added Bielsa.

To add spice to the drama, Bielsa left it to his interpreter to read out the key phrase of his letter of resignation which was sent to Marseille president Vincent Labrune.

"We had reached an agreement on a contract extension for 2016-2017, which was missing just a signature," he wrote in his letter.

Bielsa said he had met Wednesday with the club's chief executive Philippe Perez and Igor Levin, the lawyer of Marseille owner Margarita Louis Dreyfus.

"They wanted to change the contract," the Argentine wrote. "I took this final decision as working together requires a minimum of trust which we do not have."

Marseille however came out fighting following Bielsa's resignation, accusing the Argentine of trying to hold them prisoner.

A strongly-worded club statement claimed: "Marseille possess a sufficiently rich history to refuse to surrender to the rule of one man".

The French giants insisted they wouldn't be "held prisoner by a man who places his personal interests high above those of the club" in resigning after Saturday's Ligue 1 curtain-raiser, a 1-0 home loss to Caen.

"I am, like all the supporters, dazed by Marcelo Bielsa's shock decision," Labrune declared in a statement.

"However, we take note of this decision which places the club in a difficult place having started the new season with a home defeat," Labrune added.

He confirmed that one of Bielsa's assistants, Franck Passi, would step up as caretaker coach pending a permanent replacement.

The club and owner Margarita Louis-Dreyfus assured fans they would "take all necessary measures in the coming days to enable Marseille to enjoy a season to the height of its expectations".