Yoann Gourcuff will leave Lyon this summer when his contract with the Ligue 1 outfit expires, the club's president has confirmed.
Lyon's draw with Bordeaux on Saturday assured the seven-time French champions of a place in next season's Champions League group stage, but Gourcuff, 28, will not be at the club when his teammates step back out onto European club football's biggest stage.
OL president Jean-Michel Aulas revealed to Canal+ that Gourcuff is certain to leave the Stade de Gerland when his contract expires.
"It's going to stop, yes," Aulas said. "It's with a little bit of nostalgia. He's a great player who hasn't been able to settle. The best thing that could have happened was that he would have shown he is a great player with us. It's not good news for him, that's true."
Gourcuff had signed for Lyon amid much fanfare having orchestrated Bordeaux's title win in 2008-09 with performances that had many hailing him as the natural successor to Zinedine Zidane.
The five-year deal the France international midfielder signed when he joined Lyon from Bordeaux for €22 million in 2010 runs out this summer, ending an injury-blighted spell at the club for Gourcuff, who has played just 90 top-flight matches since his move.
Though there had been suggestions he would extend his deal at a lower salary, those have since given way to speculation about where he will play next season, with two of his former clubs, Bordeaux and Rennes, among the frontrunners for his signature.
Gourcuff's lawyer recently told RMC that clubs from within Ligue 1 and beyond were interested in the former AC Milan prodigy.
