Marseille used Crystal Palace as bait to force the hand of Michy Batshuayi's other suitors, according to French sports daily L'Equipe.
The Belgium international striker was being chased by Juventus, West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur, but none were willing to meet Marseille's asking price of €40m.
Marseille needed to do a deal by the end of the month and so the club opted to accept a €38m bid from Crystal Palace, with the express intention of forcing the hand of other clubs interested.
And the Ligue 1 side's ploy paid off as Chelsea surged in with a €40m offer which was accepted.
Marseille have been under pressure to sell a player for big money to fill a gap in their finances.
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And pocketing €40m from Batshuayi eases the pressure on the Ligue 1 giants.
The striker was given time off by Belgium coach Marc Wilmots yesterday in order that he could attend a clinic in Bordeaux to have a medical under the supervision of a Chelsea doctor.
A five-year deal has been agreed for Batshuayi at Chelsea and the move could be officially announced as early as today.
