Stade Rennais may have had to make do with a point in their Brittany derby in Brest (1-1), but they managed to break a record when young gun Mathys Tel came on late in the game... and now he has signed his first professional contract with the club!
Renowned for its youth academy, Stade Rennais FC takes great care of its youngsters but does not hesitate to give them their start when the time is right. Before last weekend, Eduardo Camavinga was the youngest Rouge-et-Noir to make his debut with SRFC in Ligue 1 Uber Eats, having done so aged 16 years and 147 days.
But this record was broken by Mathys Tel (16 years and 110 days) on Sunday, making him the 11th-youngest player to play in the top flight since 1950-51.
Youngest players to play in Ligue 1 Uber Eats since 1950-51:
1. Laurent Paganelli (AS Saint-Etienne): 15 years and 309 days (25/08/1978)
2. Joël Fréchet (Olympique Lyonnais): 15 years and 320 days (12/09/1981)
3. Albert Rafetraniaina (OGC Nice): 16 years and 27 days (06/12/2012)
4. Neal Maupay (OGC Nice): 16 years and 32 days (15/09/2012)
5. Willem Geubbels (Olympique Lyonnais): 16 years and 38 days (23/09/2017)
6. Laurent Fournier (Olympique Lyonnais): 16 years and 54 days (07/11/1980)
7. Laurent Roussey (AS Saint-Etienne): 16 years and 61 days (26/02/1978)
8. Rayan Cherki (Olympique Lyonnais): 16 years and 63 days (19/10/2019)
9. Richard Krawczyk (RC Lens): 16 years and 100 days (01/09/1963)
10. Bilal Boutobba (Olympique de Marseille): 16 years and 107 days (14/12/2014)
11. Mathys Tel (Stade Rennais): 16 years and 110 days (15/08/2021)
The club is clearly convinced of the young man's great qualities and he is now officially on the senior-team books, having signed his first professional contract with the club the day after his club record-breaking debut.
"This is very emotional for me because it's my first professional contract," said the young forward. "The hardest part is still to come. A lot has happened in the last few days, and they are all positives. I have to use this as a strength. I will continue to work as I do every day. The goal is to go as far as possible with the team."
Which will be a long way, if club sporting director Florian Maurice has his druthers.
"This is the beginning of a career," declared Maurice, himself a striker with PSG, OM, OL and France in his playing days. "We will try to do everything to ensure that all the conditions are met so that his development is good. It's a great signing for Stade Rennais FC and it demonstrates, once again, the quality of our youth academy."
(Photo: staderennais.com)
