Riyad Mahrez: Agent confirms 50/50 chance Mahrez could leave Leicester but owners says forward will stay at club

Leicester City’s owners claim Riyad Mahrez will stay with the Premier League champions despite the Algerian’s agent suggesting there was a 50 per cent chance he will leave this summer.

Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, the vice-chairman and son of owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, says the PFA player of the season has told him he wants to stay.

That comes despite comments yesterday from the 25-year-old’s agent raising the prospect of a summer transfer.

“I want the players to enjoy this moment and not be concerned about the contracts,” said Aiyawatt, known as ‘Top’.

“They are good boys. They understand.

“Even Mahrez, I talked to him and said ‘are you concerned?’

“He said ‘no, no, I want to stay’. This is what he wants.

“He wants to stay.

“I can’t say ‘he will stay’ because at the end of the day it depends on the players and the clubs who want them, but we have no policy to sell the players and we don’t have a problem with money.

“Next year we are going to play in the Champions League.

“They can see how good the fans are here and they can see how many players moved and failed.”

Mahrez, who currently earns around £40,000 a week and has three years remaining on his contract, is expected to be offered new terms this summer after being named by his fellow professionals as the best player in the Premier League.

He has 18 goals this season and played a pivotal role in Leicester’s title triumph, which was the most unlikely in the history of the Premier League.

That form has seen him linked with a host of clubs including Barcelona and Arsenal, but Aiyawatt reiterated his stance that he has no plans to sell any of his stars.

He added: “We will try everything that we can to build the team and to secure the same group of players and add some quality.

“We have to wait until the end of the season and evaluate everyone.

“I am super fair, and happy to improve if they deserve something.”

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Manager Claudio Ranieri also added a note of confidence over Mahrez, who was signed for less than £400,000 from Le Harve.

“I am confident 99 per cent,” said the Italian. “He stays.”

Mahrez’s agent Kamel Bengougam has raised doubt over his client’s future yesterday.

He said: “When you have been playing the way Riyad has this season it is bound to attract attention.

“He is very happy with Leicester and of course it has been a fantastic season. They will play in the Champions League next year as well so he would be happy to stay.

“But at his age if the opportunity comes to play for a big team then we would have to think about it. I’d say it’s 50/50 at the moment whether he stays or goes.”

Aiyawatt, meanwhile, confirmed that he spoke to star striker Jamie Vardy early in his Leicester career about cutting out the drinking that the vice-chairman believed was hampering his progress.

It followed stories from emanating from Thailand that Vardy had concerned the owners by “drinking booze every day”.

Aiyawatt spoke candidly about his conversations with the 29-year-old, who will end the season as Leicester’s top goalscorer before heading for France with England for Euro 2016.

The vice-chairman was, however, full of praise for the forward’s subsequent determination to become a success following his climb from non-league football via Fleetwood Town.

“It was a long time ago, when we signed him,” said Aiyawatt.

“I said ‘come on, you have to improve’. I talked to him. I know he is very special in the way he talks, the way he thinks.

“I knew he could be a better player than that. You can see that now.

“He is playing for England, top scorer for England, 22 goals, maybe more. He shows he can do anything he wants.

“In the close season he can drink, do what he wants. He has improved. He know what he wants, what he can achieve.

“I knew he could be a great player. He told me he would play for England on the day he signed.”

Vardy hosted the Leicester players’ party on Monday as they watched the draw between Chelsea and Tottenham that sealed the Premier League title.

Since then the players have witnessed extraordinary scenes in the city with thousands of fans descending on the King Power Stadium to toast the club’s first ever title.

The festivities will continue on Saturday when world-famous tenor Andrea Bocelli will perform ahead of Leicester’s clash with Everton, after which they will be presented with the Premier League trophy.

The singer will serenade fans as a personal favour to Ranieri, who enjoyed champagne with journalists yesterday and admitted he would like to sample the celebrations around the city incognito.

“I would like to go around the city maybe, with black glasses to watch what happens,” he said.

“It’s been amazing.

“In the beginning I felt something special, but of course I could never have imagined this.

“We worked so hard. I know all the players, clubs and managers worked so hard but only one can win and this year it happened to me.

“It is my karma because I worked so hard to achieve all my things.

“It has a special flavour, I’m very happy and want to say thank you to all my players, the chairman, staff and fans. They were amazing.”