Back in April, we covered an article in Sport/Foot that looked at Benoit Poulain’s failed transfer to Fulham in January as the Cottagers were scrambling around Europe looking for defensive reinforcements.
The then Premier League side made three separate bids to sign the Frenchman, yet they never managed to convince Club Brugge to part with the then 31-year-old, much to his displeasure.
Now, six months after the events, the player, out of contract at the end of the month, spoke to Walfoot about it all, and revealed some rather interesting events that took place behind the scenes.
He said: “The club promised that if something suitable landed on their desk, they would let me go to thank me for services provided. A few days later, Fulham offered €1.5m for a 31-year-old with six months left on his deal. That’s more than good enough.
“They didn’t do anything other than ignore it. I wanted to try the Premier League, but I was still contracted to Brugge, so I respected their decision even if it was tough to swallow. They even followed that by promising me financial compensation, but that never turned up…”
Following the failed transfer, Poulain was pushed to one side by Ivan Leko, who tried out Sofyan Amrabat, followed by Clinton Mata stepping into a more central role.
This meant the defender, who had been at the club since 2016, didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to the Club Brugge fans, something he would have really liked to do.
As for what’s next, there are a few options, including a potential return to France.
