Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is leaving Europe after a decade of ups and downs at clubs across the continent.
The Gabonese striker will move to Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadisah this summer.
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Marseille agrees to a departure and will sign a two-year contract with the 35-year-old.
It is the second time he has left France, more than ten years after his first departure.
In 2013, Aubameyang, then 24, tried with all his might to leave Ligue 1, and there was no shortage of interested parties.
Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Paris Saint-Germain, Anzhi Makhachkala and – most importantly – Newcastle were all interested.
After being largely a wanderer at the beginning of his career at AC Milan, Aubameyang finally made his breakthrough at Saint-Etienne in the 2012/13 season.
With his 19 league goals, he is second in the goalscoring list, only behind PSG superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Joe Kinnear had just been appointed as Newcastle’s director of football and Aubameyang became one of his biggest targets.
The Magpies made a bid of £15 million and hoped to sign a certain Kurt Zouma from St. Etienne in a deal worth £26 million.
This request was rejected, after which Aubameyang publicly declared his desire to move to the Premier League.
He said: “I will choose England over any other destination.
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“My dream has always been to play in one of the two best leagues in the world.
“Newcastle is a good club and St. James’s Park is a monumental stadium with passionate fans.”
However, there was another club that was ultimately more attractive to Aubameyang than Newcastle.
He eventually signed with Borussia Dortmund, who had reached the Champions League final the previous season under Jürgen Klopp.
Commenting on his decision in 2016, Aubameyang said: “I received an offer from Qatar for 10 million euros a year (£7.83 million). If I accept it, my family would be provided for for the rest of my life.”
“We decided to stay in Saint-Etienne, where I was getting 70,000 euros a month (£55,000), because we knew that my qualities would enable me to earn money tomorrow.”
“The following season, Saint-Etienne wanted to send me to Newcastle.
“We chose Dortmund, the Champions League finalists, because my father studied Klopp’s game, even though the pay was lower.”
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Aubameyang developed into one of Europe’s most sought-after strikers, while Newcastle went on a three-year slump that ultimately led to relegation from the Premier League in 2016.
Unlike the Magpies, Aubameyang played in the English top league in 2018.
Arsenal broke their transfer record when they signed the striker from Dortmund for £56 million.
For three and a half years, Aubameyang was worth his weight in gold.
He scored 64 goals in 114 league games before the 2021/22 season – when everything went wrong.
Aubameyang’s behaviour as captain and role model for the club’s younger players began to irritate coach Mikel Arteta – and a very public scandal led to the striker’s sudden departure.
Barcelona snapped him up in January 2022 and Aubameyang has made a solid start, scoring 11 goals in 17 LaLiga games.
Chelsea then decided to sign the 34-year-old in the summer of 2023.
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This proved to be a terrible decision, as Aubameyang scored just one goal in the Premier League and barely played during a forgettable season for both the club and the player.
This summer, he finally made his return to Ligue 1 after Chelsea signed a deal with Marseille – and upon his return he scored 17 goals.
Aubameyang has shown that he may have a little more to give before he ends his football career.
But had Newcastle managed to sign Aubameyang in his prime, the last decade might have been very different for the club.