Olympique Lyon no longer wants to earn anything from Memphis Depay, chairman Jean-Michel Aulas reports on French television on Tuesday evening. The president is determined to keep the 26-year-old attacker to his contract that expires this summer and is under no circumstances cooperating in a winter transfer. Depay will therefore leave Lyon transfer-free after the season, Aulas confirms.

“We have a lot of internationals for different countries, including Memphis, which is a leader,” Aulas said RMC Sport. “Memphis, I’m not in love with him, but I think he can take Lyon to a level that everyone at the club strives for.” This means that Depay will leave the French top club on a transfer-free basis at the end of the year. “Indeed, we cannot keep him once his contract ends,” Aulas admits.

Even if Barcelona offers a transfer fee during the winter transfer period, Lyon will not cooperate, Aulas assures. “I was the first to say he would not go to Barcelona in the summer. Nobody listened to me during the transfer window because everyone thought he was leaving. And that was not only true for Memphis, we also have Houssem Aouar and Moussa Dembélé. In a year without European football we absolutely have to perform well. So Memphis will stay until the end of the season. “

Depay is indeed important this season with five goals and three assists in ten league matches for Lyon, which is fifth in the French Ligue 1. Depay has been under contract with les Gones, who paid 16 million euros for him to Manchester United. Last summer took hold The Telegraph big with the news that Depay would go to Barcelona for 25 million euros, but a transfer was ultimately not forthcoming.