Ekitike talks Marseille excitement ahead of Champions League tie

Hugo Ekitike reflects on Marseille ahead of Champions League return

Hugo Ekitike will step into familiar territory this week as Liverpool travel to face Marseille in the UEFA Champions League. For a player whose formative years were spent navigating the sharp divides of French football, the occasion carries a particular emotional weight. Marseille, after all, have long occupied a complicated place in the national imagination, admired, resisted, and fiercely defended in equal measure.

Ekitike’s journey began at Stade de Reims, a club defined by patience and promise, before a high profile move to Paris Saint-Germain accelerated his exposure to football’s brightest lights. Yet, speaking to Canal Plus, the forward revealed that his relationship with Marseille has always been one of fascination rather than rivalry.

“I am excited to play this match (against Marseille). Marseille are a club that I have watched since I was young… as well as Paris. I love the Vélodrome,” said Ekitiké.

Photo: IMAGO

Vélodrome memories and formative moments

The Vélodrome is not unfamiliar to him. Ekitike has played there twice, and both visits left an imprint. As a Reims player, he scored in a 1-1 draw, a moment of personal affirmation inside one of Europe’s most demanding arenas. Later, while at PSG, he returned as part of a side stunned by a 1-2 Coupe de France defeat, a reminder that history and atmosphere still matter, even to champions.

“It is a magnificent stadium with crazy supporters. I think I’ll be welcomed well. There is no hate. I have always liked Marseille,” he added.

Those words speak to an appreciation of football culture that goes beyond club loyalties. Marseille’s supporters are not merely loud, they are custodians of identity, guardians of a stadium that breathes and roars with its city. For an attacking player, that intensity can feel like both invitation and challenge.

Marseille encounter carries European significance

For Marseille, the match is about momentum and belief. For Liverpool, it is about control and clarity. For Ekitike, it is a return to a stadium that helped shape his understanding of pressure and possibility. Admiration, memory, and ambition converge under the Vélodrome lights, ensuring this Champions League meeting resonates well beyond the table.