Lucho evasive on Marseille future

Argentine playmaker Lucho Gonzalez sought to evade questions about his Marseille future on Wednesday, sparking speculation that he could leave the reigning French champions this summer.

Asked if he would still be at the club next season, Lucho replied: "I don't know. Lots of you (journalists) say that I won't be here next season; that the coach (Didier Deschamps) won't be here, that other players won't be here."

"It's not the moment to talk about that. I have two years left on my contract and we'll see what happens at the end of the season."

Lucho, 30, joined Marseille from Portuguese side FC Porto in 2009 for a club record initial fee of 18 million euros ($26.8m) and he is under contract until 2013.

The Argentina international enjoyed a stunning first season, helping Marseille end a 17-year wait for silverware and win their first league title since 1992, but he has struggled for form this term.

He emphasised on Wednesday that his game is based "on the collective" and said that "one player cannot carry everything on his shoulders".

His teammate Edouard Cisse said Lucho's drop in form was due to the problems Marseille have experienced developing their play on the pitch.

"Lucho is having a little less influence on the game because we are not performing as well collectively," said Cisse.

"People talk about him, because he's the one who's supposed to put the team in order. He's certainly having a few more problems, he messes up passes or technical moves that he didn't use to mess up, but he's not the only one."

"We're all in the same boat."

Marseille, who visit third-placed Lyon on Sunday, trail French league leaders Lille by a point with five games of the season remaining.