LIgue 1: Stade Brest and Youcef Belaïli terminate contract

Private reasons

The French first division club Stade Brest and left winger Youcef Belaïli have terminated the contract that originally ran until the end of the season and ended their cooperation prematurely. The Ligue 1 club announced that private backgrounds were decisive for the separation. The 30-year-old only joined Brest from Qatar SC in January, which was his second stop in France.

In 2017, after a two-year doping ban, the Algerian had already been in the service of Angers SCO for four months, but only played one game for the club before moving on to Esperance Tunis. For Brest, Belaïli had contributed seven goals in 19 games since arriving. Already in the past few days during the international break, French media had reported on an impending separation.

“Youcef felt uncomfortable on a daily basis, especially being away from his family. Therefore, it was difficult for him to continue on this path. For his daily balance and the good of the group, we have agreed to end our collaboration. All the things that have been said about the player in the last few days remain private matters that are not our business or that do not need to be expanded. The most important thing today is Stade Brest’s sporting situation and the institution is above his personal case, just like any other player,” said sporting director Grégory Lorenzi.

Youcef Belaïli: Most assists in national teams since 2020

The 37-cap international was part of the Algerian squad in last week’s victories against Guinea and Nigeria. When asked about the speculation that was already circulating at this point, coach Djamel Belmadi said: “I hope the information about Belaïli is wrong. He has to return to his club, he has to work and be patient. That’s professionalism. Also, I said it to the players after the meeting: if you go back to your clubs, escape to work and that those who don’t have playing time will do whatever they can to get it.”

With 18 assists in 26 international matches since January 2020, the right-footed player is currently the world’s best provider of assists in this period ahead of Neymar (Brazil, 13/20) and Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium, 11/19) – the best German in this ranking is Leon Goretzka ( 9/19) in 9th place. Whether and to what extent Belaïli’s decision could also affect his career in the national team is open.

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