The accusations made by PSG president Francis Borelli against Tapie and OM for fixing matches during that season were a contributor to their growing rivalry.

French TV channel Canal+ bought PSG in 1991 with the aim of breaking Marseille's hegemony but then agreed with Tapie to emphasize the animosity between them as a way to promote the league.

Tapie proceeded to invest huge amounts of money in star signings such as Chris Waddle, Abedi Pelé, Jean-Pierre Papin, Basile Boli, Enzo Francescoli, Eric Cantona, Didier Deschamps and Marcel Desailly.

[10] The main reason behind the buyout was to revive interest in a Ligue 1 completely dominated by Marseille as well as lure more subscribers by assembling a team that could beat them.

[2][14] Backed by their own rich owner, PSG began to flex muscles in the transfer market with Tapie's Marseille, recruiting top talent like David Ginola, Youri Djorkaeff, George Weah and Raí.

[10][21] The French Football Federation stripped OM of their title and offered it to runners-up PSG, who refused it because club owners Canal+ thought that claiming the trophy would anger their subscribers back in Marseille.

[26][27] This feeling of injustice stems from the political dimension to the rivalry, which has been described by FIFA as pitting "the chosen ones of French football (the politically-favored PSG) against their enfants terribles (the unruly OM).

Club president Daniel Hechter was found guilty of running a ticketing scheme in 1977 and his replacement, Francis Borelli, incurred serious debts and financial irregularities in 1991.

[20] Two decades later, French president Nicolas Sarkozy, a well-known supporter of PSG, which was then struggling financially, facilitated the club's purchase by Qatar Sports Investments.

[29] Marseille quickly bounced back into the top flight in 1996 after two seasons in Ligue 2 but their new owner was not so keen to spend like Bernard Tapie.

[4] OM only lost twice to their northern rivals between September 1990 and February 2000, before Paris became the dominant force in the 2000s, during which they produced a spectacular run of eight consecutive wins between 2002 and 2004.

[30] The closest they were of facing one another in Europe was in the 2008–09 edition of the UEFA Cup but were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Ukrainian teams Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk, thus preventing a semi-final matchup between them.

[31] The balance briefly shifted again in favor of Marseille during the late 2000s and early 2010s,[30] with the Olympians claiming the Ligue 1 and French League Cup double in 2010, ending their 17-year trophy drought,[13][32] and then beating Paris in the 2010 Trophée des Champions on penalties.

[34] Many great players have since been part of PSG's all star-lineup that Ligue 1 had not seen after the early 1990s Marseille squads, including Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, Thiago Silva, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Edinson Cavani, Ángel Di María and Lionel Messi.

[30][37] Marseille went head-to-head against eventual champions Paris for the league crown in 2013 as both sides finished in the two top spots for the first time since the 1994 title race, which PSG also won.

[112] Some of them have even made the round trip several times, including Jérôme Leroy, Xavier Gravelaine, Boubacar Sarr and Bruno Germain.

[113] PSG made the next big move with the signings of French football prodigies Peter Luccin and Stéphane Dalmat from OM in 2000.

After a convincing season in the south, the midfield duo responded positively to the sirens of the capital to compete in the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League.

[114][115] Marseille hit back with adored PSG captain Frédéric Déhu who, following a confrontation with manager Vahid Halilhodžić, decided to sign for OM when his contract expired in 2004.

[64][68] When his deal was revealed days before the 2004 Coupe de France final, the match became a nightmare for Déhu, who was constantly booed by PSG fans.

"[64] In similar fashion, beloved PSG Academy graduate Lorik Cana signed for Marseille in 2005 after losing his starting place under manager Laurent Fournier.

Idolized by fans during his stint in the capital, Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze told reporters in 2005 that he loved PSG and would only play for them if he ever went back to France.

[114] The Parisian fans welcomed him back to the Parc des Princes with insults, whistles and hostile banners, only for him to net Marseille's winning goal,[63][68] becoming the second player, after Boubacar Sarr, to have scored for both clubs in the clash.

[30][112] The 'transfer war' has cooled down since then as Qatar-backed PSG have had the financial muscle to recruit any player in the world, while OM have had to settle for more modest targets.