August 31, 2020 at 5:50 pm by Emmanuel Bernard
What season for Stéphane Ruffier? According to current trends, it will take place off the field.
Towards a departure by the end of the market on October 15, or a white season for Stéphane Ruffier ? A priori, the keeper of ASSE will be entitled to one, or the other. Because, sidelined from his place in the Saint-Etienne goals, the Basque could not play in the 2020-21 season if he decides to stick to the contract he has, without wanting to look elsewhere. For Saint-Etienne, this is the worst-case scenario, with the club keen to reduce its payroll, it is nothing less than one of the highest paid players who is the question here.
The divorce is over between ASSE and Ruffier. But not yet consumed
At 33, Stéphane Ruffier has good sporting odds, with more or less recent performances which plead for him. But as he has a certain age and a contract which is drawing to a close, he is no longer valued, at more or less three million euros on the transfer window, in the joint analysis of the Transfermarkt platform and researchers from the International Center for the Study of Sport. In short, he returned almost ten years back, when Saint-Etienne went to fetch him in Monaco, against an indemnity of three million, paid to the princely club. All this time, Ruffier has held the number one position, which he just lost for a few months.
A final contractual season that the goalkeeper would like to honor
He only has this 2020-21 season left with a contract in Forez. He clearly does not intend to give it up, to satisfy the Saint-Etienne board. His salary is estimated at 180,000 euros gross monthly, but he can earn up to 50,000 euros per month in addition, with bonuses. Nowhere else will he get the same remuneration, it is a choice to be defended between financial and sporting interests. Next summer he will have the advantage of being free to choose his destination. As long as the doors open, if he goes his year without playing, it might not be obvious.