MARSEILLE CAPTAIN ANDRE AYEW has confirmed he will leave the Ligue 1 club at the end of the season, revealing they wanted to pay him less.
Club president Vincent Labrune told The Independent this week that Marseille could not afford to keep Ayew, with the Ghana international expected to move to the Premier League.
Speaking after Marseille’s 4-0 thumping of Lille on Saturday, Ayew verified Labrune’s statement.
“The president has spoken, therefore, things have been said more or less. We know I’m going to leave the club. This is a page that will turn,” Ayew said.
Ayew scored Marseille’s fourth goal against Lille – his 10th strike in 27 games this season.
The 25-year-old revealed he was not convinced the south coast club could challenge for the Ligue 1 title next season and that they would not meet his wage demands.
Paris Saint-Germain wrapped up their third consecutive league title on Saturday.
“There are many things behind it. We tried to find solutions that I stay but for the club and me it was a bit complicated, whether in sport or financial aspects,” Ayew said.
“I expected more, I wanted the club to have a competitive team next year to play the title and it is not insured. And the club could not offer me the same wage.”
Ayew’s contract will expire at the end of June, bringing to an end almost a lifetime’s association with the club.
The midfielder’s father – Abedi Pele – played for the club, while Ayew signed his first contract with Marseille as a 17-year-old.
Ayew has made 206 appearances for Marseille in all competitions, winning two Coupe de la Ligue titles but missing the 2009-10 French championship as he was on loan at Arles-Avignon that season.
Apart from that loan and a stint at Lorient the season before, Ayew has only ever played for Marseille since returning to France – the land of his birth – from Ghana.
It is the third season in a row that Marseille have lost a key player with Mathieu Valbuena having departed to Dynamo Moscow last year, while Loic Remy left midway through the 2012-13 campaign.
I was thinking the same yesterday. Can you imagine a player like Aidan O’Shea was left on the bench for a whole game. There would be a mutiny the day after their championship campaign ended.
@Ned Flanders: cheap shot. O’Shea showed he is the ultimate team player by switching to a totally new position over the last 2 games to help the team get over the line. I guess haters are always gonna hate though
@Pepper Brooks: ultimate team player? That particular tactic nearly blew up in mayos face. In the replay he was soloing around his 21 half way through second half and trying 40 yard outside of boot passes that ran out over the line. If kerry hadnt panicked and had taken points earlier rather than going for goals when 7 down it could have been a very different
@Pepper Brooks: O’Shea wouldn’t make the Dublin bench.
Juniors maybe
@johnnyA the game is also about opinions,for you it’s bitter and twisted against Dublin,while us Dublin fan’s are enjoying every minute of this great Team,so happy days for us Ha Ha ha
@alan dodrill: *fans
It’s a great achievement to show humility when you’re strolling through the championship. Fair play to the Dublin/AIG players for being such good winners. If Gavin exerts such control he must endorse or at least turn a blind eye to the playacting. Cooper at it again yesterday. McCarthy and McCaffrey at it the last day – good footballers but while their fans have brought the worst aspects of UK terrace culture to Gaelic Games the players have brought Neymar type playacting into our national sport. Great lads all the same.
@Johnny A: Why not just enjoy the football instead of always having a bitch , life is too short
@Tony Talbot: the football championship used to mean something. Now it’s completely hollow. Very few meaningful contests – certainly none when Dublin/AIG are involved. Instead of mitigating their natural advantages – population, money, home advantage – the GAA have bolstered these and set them in stone. Teams like Tyrone and Monaghan now come up to Croker with ridiculous defensive systems just to keep the score down. The GAA have to look at the population and reconsider a split – for example Dublin North/AIG & Dublin South/HSBC. There should be an equalisation process with the corporate loot – they should be allowed keep 20-30% with the rest being redistributed. And they should be kept out of Croker a lot more – why not make them play an away semi final for example. I’ll enjoy it then.
@Johnny A: have to hand it to you mate you have bitterness to a new level. Short memories like most non dubs. This golden era has more to do wirh jim gavin than anything else.Maybe he should only be allowed manage smaller counties?
@Johnny A: explain 1995 – 2011??
If you split Dublin now you’d risk an all Dublin All Ireland final and that would be worse! Did you see the bench. Dublin A Vs Dublin B would be some game!
Other counties need to stop making excuses… Kerry has the same population as Wicklow as is the most successful football county by far
Also, let’s split Kilkenny into North & South and actually while we’re at what about the most successful football county, Kerry…well over due a split!!
@Brendan Farrell: if you think a 2 way split isn’t enough and they’d still be too strong then a 4 way split would be ideal. Could be 4 Dublin zones – AIG1, AIG2, AIG3, AIG4. Have their own provincial championship. The metropolitan cup or something like that.
@paddy: I wouldn’t call it bitterness – more like constructive hate.