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Hatem Ben Arfa says an emotional goodbye…

6 years ago
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Hatem Ben Arfa celebrated his 31st birthday three weeks ago.

Though not exactly a lot to celebrate, as it is a year since he played any football.

Used almost exclusively as a substitute by PSG last season, Hatem only started five Ligue 1 matches.

However, this season the winger has turned into a very expensive mistake for PSG, who have completely sidelined him.

Not included in a single squad this season, Ben Arfa still  though is the 21st highest earning French sportsperson of the past year, with earnings of €7.4m (£6.5m) in 2017.

Back in 2015/16, he transformed Nice from a mid-table team going nowhere, into one competing at the top.

The former Newcastle winger scored a superb 17 goals in only 33 Ligue 1 starts, helping Nice qualify for Europe in fourth place, only two points off being runners-up in the league to PSG.

With a lot of talk of Barcelona, instead Hatem Ben Arfa ‘followed his heart’ and joined PSG as a free agent in Summer 2016.

Despite his treatment by PSG, Hatem Ben Arfa has today posted this farewell via his official Instagram (translated from below):

“Soon it is the end of my adventure at PSG.

“Despite difficult times, I am happy to have worn this jersey.

“I will keep wonderful memories with my [PSG] teammates.

“Through this message I take the opportunity to thank the many supporters…I will like always this club.”

A month ago former Nice team-mate Vincent Koziello had this to say about Hatem Ben Arfa:

Hatem Ben Arfa tried his best at PSG, the club of his heart.

“I am sad for him and I think he is sad too.

“I don’t think I have understood everything that has gone on in that situation.

“I think that he absolutely had the abilities to succeed at PSG, especially in his first year.

“He tried his best at PSG, the club of his heart, and I think that he would have had regrets had he not done so before his career ended.”

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