Announcing his retirement from football at the age of 33 after spending over a year without a club, Yannis Salibur did so without ever experiencing the game in England, despite having come close with a failed transfer to Hull City.
The move came about when he was still at Guingamp in France, back in 2017, and the former France U19 international saw it as the ideal chance to discover one of the best leagues in the world.
However, it all collapsed, and the chance of going to Hull City disappeared, which he discussed in an interview with Ouest-France on Tuesday.
Asked about his ‘aborted move’ to the Tigers, he said: “It was a very complicated period. I had a dream, and that was to play in Spain or England. I had this opportunity and I had already made plans. As I was at the peak of my career, I was waiting for this moment to move on and aim higher.
“And today, from the outside, I think there was a disagreement between the agents, the committees and the chairmen.”
Salibur was then asked if he felt someone intentionally pulled the plug on his transfer to Hull, or at least did something on purpose to ensure it didn’t happen.
Despite never being able to play for Hull City, Salibur eventually did manage to play in Spain, as he played one year with RCD Mallorca between 2019 and 2020.
He then went to Fatih Karagümrük in Turkey, where he played for two seasons prior to him walking away and never finding a club again.
