Coach Gerets to leave Marseille at the end of season

Coach Eric Gerets will leave Ligue 1 leaders Marseille at the end of the season, the Belgian said.

Asked if he would be departing the French club, the 54-year-old replied: "Yes. It has been a while since I took that decision."

Gerets said he would be leaving the club because of the lack of trust between him and owner Robert Louis-Dreyfus, who told L'Equipe in January he would wait until the end of the season to offer the coach a new contract.

"I got muddled after Robert Louis-Dreyfus's interview," Gerets said.

"I did not understand and I still don't. I think it was a sign. Despite my work, there was a lack of gratitude and most of all a lack of trust."

A Louis-Dreyfus spokesman said the Marseille owner now wanted Gerets to stay but the coach had rejected the proposal.

"Louis-Dreyfus would have sent a strong message if he had told me as soon as January he wanted me to stay, while we were fourth in the league," Gerets said.