Stade Rennes reports enforcement
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This article was first published on December 21st, 2024 before the impending transfer and was updated after confirmation on January 1st, 2025.
The Ivorian international Seko Fofana is returning to top European football after a year and a half in Saudi Arabia. FC Stade Rennes is signing the 29-year-old midfielder, as the Ligue 1 club announced on Wednesday at the start of the January transfer window. Fofana signed a contract until the summer of 2029. Since January 2024, the right-footer has been on loan from Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr FC to Al-Ettifaq FC within the desert state.
The transfer fee that Rennes paid for Fofana is one of the highest in the club’s history. According to the newspaper “Le Parisien”, around 20 million euros will flow. So far, no player has been more expensive in this winter transfer window. Coach Jorge Sampaoli’s team only paid above the 20 million mark three times for a player (for statistics). Al-Nassr’s record departure since the summer of 2022 has been the Uruguayan Jonathan Rodríguez, who brought in 5.45 million euros when he moved to CF América in Mexico.
The ambitious Bretons are in a disappointing twelfth place in Ligue 1 after 15 games. Fofana, who played 135 games in the French upper house for SC Bastia and RC Lens, should help restore contact with the European places.
The veteran appeared on the field 19 times for Al-Nassr, scoring two goals and one assist. He was also a regular at Al-Ettifaq in the 2024 calendar year and scored two goals and two assists in 29 appearances. Fofana becomes the fifth well-known player after Jordan Henderson (33; Ajax), Jota (25; Stade Rennes), Allan Saint-Maximin (27; loan to Fenerbahce) and Ivan Rakitic (36; Hajduk Split) as part of the transfer. Expansion went to Saudi Arabia and is now returning to Europe.