Rennes signs Victory Al Salih midfielder Seko Fofana on a four-and-a-half-year contract

Rennes officially announced on Wednesday that it has introduced 29-year-old Ivory Coast international Seko Fofana from Riyadh Victory. The two sides signed a four-and-a-half-year contract until June 30, 2029.

According to Le Parisien, Seko Fofana's transfer fee is as high as 20 million euros.

Seko Fofana was born in Paris, France in 1995. In the early stage of his career, he was loaned out by Manchester City to Fulham and Bastia to gain experience. After leaving Manchester City, he played for Udinese and Lens, and gradually grew into the team's midfield core.

In August 2023, Seko Fofana joined Riyadh Victory from Lens for 25 million euros. However, he has only played 19 times in Riyadh Victory so far and was loaned to Dammam for half a year.

After a year and a half in Saudi Arabia, Seko Fofana decided to return to Ligue 1 due to limited playing opportunities. After signing with Rennes, he said: "I am very happy to join Rennes and face the new challenge in 2025. Rennes is a club I have always followed. It has not only played against me many times, but also has an important position in Ligue 1." "The conversations with Arnaud Pouille and Frederic Massara played a decisive role," Seko Fofana added. "They explained to me the club's project and the expectations of the shareholders. The strong information made me make the decision without hesitation afterwards."

Rennes has not had a good record this season. After 15 rounds, it ranks 12th in Ligue 1 with 5 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses and 17 points. However, Seko Fofana showed great confidence in Rennes: "I am very excited to start a new career in Rennes. Rennes has many talented players, and I think the club's performance is not as good as it should be."

"We will try to win consecutive games and prove that the performance at the beginning of this season was far below the club's potential. I hope we can turn things around as soon as possible."

Rennes executive chairman and general manager Arnaud Pouille said: "We have carefully considered the signing of Seko Fofana in the first few days after coach Jorge Sampaoli took office. We are very happy to welcome him today as a good start for 2025. This reflects the determination of the club's owners and management to build a great vision for the future of Rennes."

“At the end of the day, sport is all about relationships and trust. I’m very happy to see Seko Fofana again at Rennes. You know him as a player, but he deserves to be known as a person as well. He will start working with his new teammates from today and I’m sure he will quickly integrate into the team and the Rennes community.”