Steed Malbranque ends contract with AS Saint-Etienne – Ligue 1 news
Former Fulham FC and Sunderland midfielder Steed Malbranque has ended his contract with French Ligue 1 side AS Saint-Etienne after only recently signing for the Rhone club this summer.
Reports in British media suggested that the 31-year-old might be looking to end his footballing career after rumours became rife that Malbranque’s son was suffering from cancer and the player wanted to give more time to his family during a testing time.
However, Malbranque’s agent vehemently denied those rumours and clarified that the player has no son and is 100% committed to the club and will not leave the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
However, the club’s official website has now confirmed that the former Sunderland player has had his contract cancelled citing personal problems as the main reason behind this.
The Frenchman had a meeting with the board of directors of Les Verts this Monday to discuss a possible solution regarding his contract.
Following his meeting, a press release was published on ASSE’s official website. The statement denied rumours of health problems for either Malbranque or his family members.
"AS Saint-Etienne football club and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Steed-Malbranque-c33957 firmly deny the rumours, some of which have had no relation to reality at all, and some of which have been very hurtful in their speculation concerning Steed Malbranque's health and the health of his children,
that have been circulating since the player made his decision. The choice was his alone to make and Saint-Etienne fully respects Steed's wishes. The directors of AS Saint-Etienne wish Steed all the very best for the future," read the official statement.
The decision of Steed Malbranque to end his contract at Saint-Etienne comes as a big surprise as the Frenchman had been at the club for only a month and donned the famous green jersey of Saint-Etienne for only 26 minutes before he successfully sorted out
a termination of his contract by mutual consent.
Steed Malbranque started his career at http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749.
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