Former Newcastle United midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa’s brutal message for senior club figure

There were some glowing tributes to Jean-Michel Aulas after it was announced that he would step down as Olympique Lyonnais after 36 years as president.

Not from Hatem Ben Arfa, however.

The former Newcastle United midfielder – who has been without a club since leaving Lille just over a year ago – issued a blunt message to the 74-year-old.

Ben Arfa said: “You will not be missed in football. Goodbye.”

Ben ruled out a return to Lyon four years ago because of Aulas. Speaking to L’Equipe, Ben Arfa said: “Returning to OL is not possible. I couldn’t work with Aulas. Yes, he likes me, but in hindsight, it would be very complicated.”

Ben Arfa – who left Lyon in 2008 – spent four years at Newcastle after joining from Olympique Lyonnais in 2010.

The former France international was loaned to Steve Bruce's in 2014 Hull City after falling out with then-manager Alan Pardew, and his Newcastle contract was terminated in January 2015.

Meanwhile, Newcastle winger Allan Saint-Maximin revealed that he had spoken to Ben Arfa about the club before joining in 2019.

“There were a lot of players, like (Yann) M’Vila, though he wasn’t at Newcastle, he was in Sunderland,” said Saint-Maximin. “He spoke to me. Hatem spoke to me.

“I talked with a lot of players. They said to me it’s a great club, a great city and the supporters are great. Everything is great.

"This is why I came. I said ‘I know I want to be there’. Everybody told me (to join). Some players in Arsenal said to me ‘it’s a great stadium with a lot of people’.”