8 Ligue 1 Players Whose Contracts Are Ending Next Summer

In the final article on players whose contracts expire next summer, I will be taking a look at Ligue 1. The French premier division is a pool of talented, up-and-coming players that often look for a route out of France to join bigger teams in bigger leagues. However, with the arrival of billionaires to clubs like Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, players are becoming more inclined to stay due to the fact that Ligue 1 is growing in popularity and ability. The stranglehold on the league held by Marseille and Lyon has been broken by these two clubs and now we have a four or five horse race for the title. This is one of the reasons why the league has grown in popularity, with the increasing uncertainty around who could potentially win adding more excitement. However, many players still look for a way out and a few of those could make this list:

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Barcelona legend returns to homeland (Video)

After his miraculous recovery from a liver transplant in April 2012, and his return to playing first team football with Barcelona a year later, it was a huge surprise when the Spanish club announced that they weren't going to offer an extension to his contract at the end of this season.

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Eric Abidal says he has options after Barcelona contract ended

With Eric Abidal’s career at Barcelona coming to an end this season, he has said himself he has had offers outside of Spain to help rekindle his career after a somewhat turbulent time recently.

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Barcelona ready to offer big money for centre-back (Video)

Barcelona are in the market for some defenders this summer, particularly now that Carles Puyol is coming towards the end of his career and Eric Abidal continues to make steady recovery from a liver transplant. Gerard Pique is their only other recognised central defender, with Javier Mascherano and Sergio Busquets often filling in alongside the former Manchester United player as and when required. Who looks likely to join the Catalan squad for next season and will Tito Vilanova decide on actually purchasing a defender rather than trying to convert a midfielder?

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Is the French influence on the Champions League fading?

With all the talk about the shift of the European centre of gravity to Germany from Spain, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Primera Liga big guns have won nothing in Europe for decades.

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Big summer for: Barcelona

The past four years for Barcelona have been nothing short of mesmerising. Move and move, pass after pass, goal after goal; everything about them was exceptional.

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