Olivier Ntcham announces Celtic exit as midfielder bids farewell with Lazio comeback

Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham announced his departure and thanked the fans for their support during his time at the club.

The Frenchman joined Manchester City in the summer of 2017, helping Parkhead club win three league titles in a row.

Things quickly got worse because in the summer of 2019, he gave an interview to L’Équipe in which he expressed his desire to leave.

A potential £ 14million transfer to Porto failed to materialize and Ntcham was reinstated in the squad, scoring a late winner at Lazio in the Europa League.

Overall he failed to convince Neil Lennon and in January he joined Marseille on loan with an option to buy.

The move was so badly received by manager Andre Villas-Boas that he resigned the next day, while an old interview in which Ntcham declared his love for his big rival, Paris Saint-Germain, meant that he was difficult to engage the fans.

He was hooked at halftime in a Coupe de France loss to Canet-et-Roussillon, and barely featured under AVB successor Jorge Sampaoli.

OM decided not to take their option to buy, but Ntcham was at the Stade V̩lodrome for their friendly with Villarreal on Saturday Рas his Celtic team-mates faced Hearts.

And the midfielder has now announced his departure from the club, without confirmation of his next destination.

Ntcham wrote on Instagram, along with a photo from this Lazio match: “I want to thank everyone at Celtic for the 3 years in half (sic) I was there.

Thank you to all the coaches, staff, players and everyone who works at the club.

“Finally, I would like to thank the loyal supporters who have always supported us.

“I wish you all the best for the future.”

AEK Athens has been heavily linked with a move for Ntcham, while there was also speculation Celtic could reach a deal to cancel the final year of his contract.

And it looks like it just might be as the club have released their own statement.

He confirmed: “The club can confirm that Olivier Ntcham’s contract with Celtic FC has come to an end.

“Everyone at the club wishes Oli nothing but success for the future.”