Riyad Mahrez has told Leicester he wants to leave the club this summer less than 12 months after signing a new long-term deal.
The Algeria international was named the PFA Player of the Year in 2016 after leading Leicester to their shock Premier League title win during the 2015/16 campaign and signed a new four-year deal in August.
Interest in Mahrez was high last summer and Arsenal came the closest to signing the 26-year-old before he opted to stay with Leicester and have a crack at Champions League football with the Foxes.
Leicester made it all the way until the quarter-finals in Europe’s top competition before being eliminated by Atletico Madrid, but Craig Shakespeare’s side failed to finish in the top 10 of their title defence and now Mahrez wants to leave the King Power Stadium.
“Out of the huge admiration and respect I hold for Leicester City Football Club I wanted to be totally honest and transparent with them and have therefore informed the club that I feel now is the time for me to move on,” a statement read from Mahrez, via Sky Sports.
“I had a good discussion with the Chairman last summer and we agreed at that time that I would stay for another year in order to help the club as best I could following the transition of winning the title and in the Champions League. However, I am fiercely ambitious and feel that now is the time to move on to a new experience.
“I’ve always enjoyed a good relationship with the Chairman and everyone at the club, and I hope I have been able to repay the faith shown to me by my performances and commitment on the pitch during my time here.
“I’ve had the four best seasons of my career at Leicester and have loved every moment. I feel immense pride to have been part of what we achieved during my time at the club, culminating in becoming Premier League champions.
“The relationship I share with the club and our amazing fans is something I will treasure forever and I truly hope they will understand and respect my decision.”
Mahrez’s dream is to play for Barcelona but it remains to be seen whether he is even on the radar of new head coach Ernesto Valverde this summer. The Leicester ace struggled to rediscover the performances that helped Leicester win the league this time around but is still a player of immense talent.
The Leicester winger has played a direct hand in 37 goals in the last two Premier League campaigns, while only Eden Hazard (232) and Wilfried Zaha (269) have completed more dribbles than Mahrez (209) in that time.
For more stats on Riyad Mahrez, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
