Soccer
Charlie Cresswell outlined his excitement at playing in Europe with Rennes after completing his €28m move from Toulouse.
Rennes confirmed on Tuesday that Cresswell had agreed a contract to run until 2031 with the French side, who finished sixth in Ligue 1 last season.
Reports had indicated the deal would be an initial one-year loan with Rennes obliged to make it permanent at the end of 2026-27, though Cresswell’s new club did not specify the terms of the agreement.
Having come through Leeds United’s youth system and helped England win back-to-back Under-21 European Championship titles in 2023 and 2025, being named to the Team of the Tournament at the latter edition, Cresswell joined Toulouse in 2024.
Off the back of a successful loan spell with Millwall, Cresswell made 66 appearances for Toulouse in all competitions, contributing to 18 clean sheets and scoring eight goals.
From the start of 2024-25 onwards, only Cristian Casseres (5,698) and Guillaume Restes (5,687) played more minutes for the club than Cresswell (5,626).
Among Ligue 1 defenders in 2025-26, Cresswell ranked first for duels won (171), first for aerial duels won (130), first for headed shots (31) and second for opposition shots blocked (30).
But after seeking a new challenge, the centre-back is relishing the opportunity to ply his trade in the Europa League for Franck Haise’s side.
“There has been a lot of talk about my move to Rennes over the past few weeks. It’s fantastic to have finally arrived here and seen this project come to fruition,” he told the club’s website.
Loïc Désiré : « Charlie cochait toutes les cases du profil recherché en défense centrale. Celui d’un leader, à la fois athlétique et complet »
𝘓𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤 𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘴.
— Stade Rennais F.C. (@staderennais) August 4, 2026
“I am truly very happy. I spent two wonderful years in Toulouse and I couldn’t have asked for more there, but football moves in cycles, and the prospect of playing in Europe was a great reason to make this move.
“The club has an interesting project and, I feel, an excellent squad this year. I hope we will achieve great things.”
Rennes open their Ligue 1 campaign against defending champions Paris Saint-Germain on August 23, and they will enter the Europa League in the league phase next month.
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