Newcastle target Andre Ayew has confirmed he will be leaving the Stade Velodrome when his contract expires this summer.
The 25-year-old has been heavily linked with a Premier League move in recent weeks, with Newcastle among the favourites to secure his signature, but Ayew has always maintained that he would sign a new deal with Marseille if they could meet his level of ambition.
However, earlier this week, club president Vincent Labrune admitted, to The Independent, that they could not compete with the money English clubs could offer and, therefore, Ayew will be leaving the Ligue 1 club this summer.
“We can’t keep Ayew. He is a very important player for OM but we can’t offer him the kind of money English clubs can offer. The French financial system is complicated and we can’t offer him an equivalent salary to what he can earn in England,” Labrune said.
“And equally, we can’t ask Ayew, who we love and is an icon of our team, to accept a lower salary. That makes no sense so unfortunately he is going to quit the club and we hope he has the great career that he deserves in England or somewhere else.”
Following Marseille’s 4-0 thrashing of Lille, Ayew has echoed the club president’s comments: “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.”
“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. 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 boasts a tally of eleven goals and three assists in 27 appearances this season and has attracted the attention of a number of top clubs, including AS Roma, Napoli and Liverpool.
