Abou Diaby will not be offered a new contract by Marseille and now faces a huge decision over his future when he leaves the club in June.

The former Arsenal man joined the Ligue 1 outfit in 2015 and has managed just six appearances over two years.

This season he played just 130 minutes at the start of the season before he required ankle surgery yet again. Diaby returned to training in March but is not close to a return yet.

Now 31, his career has been totally destroyed by the injury he received not long after joining Arsenal 11 years ago.

Although he has previously spoken about feeling like he should retire before deciding to fight on, it’s hard to imagine that he can find another club that would be willing to spend the time and money needed to get him fit only to have him available for a handful of minutes each season.

It’s a heartbreaking story.

Diaby would no doubt have gone on to be one of the greatest players of his generation had he never met Dan Smith.

Now, his legacy will be one of what could have been.