Heinze confirms he will leave Marseille

Argentinian veteran Gabriel Heinze confirmed Friday that he would be leaving Marseille at the end of the season.

The 33-year-old defender, who moved to the French Ligue 1 club in the summer of 2010 from Real Madrid, emphasized that he's not leaving for financial concerns but for ambition.

"I think in a completely different way than the club owners," he said. "It's not a question of money, which is not everything in life. It's a question of the project.

Heinze earns 400,000 euro a month from Marseille, and the salary makes him one of the club's highest paid players. "I feel I'm doing the club a favor by leaving," he said.

Marseille have set about renovating their Velodrome stadium, which will see a 20-million euro shortfall for them in the next three seasons.

Heinze, who previously played for Manchester United, was a member both of Argentina's 2004 Olympic gold medal-winning side and also the 2006 and 2010 World Cup squads which reached twice the quarterfinals.

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