So when the France goalkeeper returned 12 months later following an unsuccessful spell in England with Crystal Palace, it's safe to say the man who now holds the record for appearances at OM received a warm homecoming.

"I left Marseille because I needed to try something different, both for sporting and for personal reasons," he told The Ligue 1 Show on beIN Sports.

"It didn't go well for me because I was injured, then the coach changed, I didn't play much, I had an operation…a lot conspired against me. You have two choices in that situation. Either you drop off the radar completely or you get your head down and work. So that's what I did for six months. I worked on my own, I worked with a coach in London, this summer I worked in Marseille with another coach while the clubs were discussing my transfer. That meant I was ready when the season started.

"The Marseille I've returned to is very different to the one I left. The club is now targeting European football, it's more stable and structured. So I don't see it as a failure or a step back."

PSG game a reference

Ligue 1 Conforama's player of the month in September, the 32-year-old has wasted no time in rediscovering his best form. But not even the man nicknamed 'Il Fenomeno' could prevent Edinson Cavani from equalising late on at the Orange Vélodrome in October. That night typified a season packed with highs and lows so far - Marseille were excellent in the Classique against Paris Saint-Germain but had to settle for a 2-2 draw.

"For me, our performance against PSG is a reference in terms of spirit, commitment, running and everything we did in that game," Mandanda said. "It shows that we could and should be doing better. We played so well in that game, we should be able to do that every week. The PSG game is big for our fans, and for us, because of everything we did over 91 minutes. We couldn't do it for those last two minutes unfortunately, but it was a great game."

Marseille's form has been good of late, however. They are unbeaten in their last 11 Ligue 1 Conforama games, form that has seen them climb right into contention for a top-three place. And they qualified for the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

Evra departure

However, the departure under a cloud of Patrice Evra - one of Mandanda's closest friends - cast a long shadow over the club.

"I'm not defending him because when you are a professional footballer, with the experience and the career he has, you shouldn't do that," said Mandanda of the altercation with a fan prior to the Europa League match away to Vitória Guimarães last month that led to Evra's departure.

"But, I can't say for sure I wouldn't have done the same thing. You know it's not easy, we are human beings...sometimes you react and you can't control it...I'm not certain that he needs to apologise to the squad and I don't think he will."

Evra may have gone but Marseille remain on course to reach their stated goal of qualifying for Europe next season.

"We're going well, but if we can do even better than the objective we set ourselves at the start of the season, then we should do so," the goalkeeper added.