EFL club release ex-Champions League player after just 60 days without playing a single minute

Jérôme Roussillon has confirmed he has left Charlton Athletic just 60 days after joining the club on a free transfer.

On November 28, Roussillon, who has played 10 Champions League games in his career, signed for Charlton in a shock move.

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But following the ex-Wolfsburg star’s surprising arrival, he never made a single first-team appearance for the Addicks.

Across his two months at the club, he appeared in the squad just four times, sitting out completely for eight games.

Roussillon made his only appearances in the Premier League Cup for Charlton’s Under-21 side, playing twice in December.

He confirmed that he would be leaving the club on Monday, posting an Instagram story with a message to the team.

The Guadeloupe international wrote alongside an image of The Valley: “The Charlton chapter comes to an end.

“Thank you to the club for the welcome. Every experience is part of the journey.

“A special thanks to the players, wishing them all the best and the club every success moving forward.

“As for me, full focus on the next challenge.”

Charlton are yet to officially confirm Roussillon’s departure.

He was not named in their squad for their 4-0 defeat to Millwall on Saturday.

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Why did Charlton sign Roussillon?

After Roussillon signed in November, Charlton manager Nathan Jones confirmed why he wanted to get the left-back in.

Jones said: “We’re delighted to be able to bring in someone with Jérôme’s experience.

“We’ve obviously been light in that area with the injury to Josh Edwards and it’s the only position that we haven’t really got cover on.

“So we’re pleased to bring Jérôme in to give us more competition and quality in that area.”

Despite those comments, he didn’t feature at all for Charlton, with Robert Apter, Ibrahim Fullah, Amari’i Bell and Tyreece Campbell all playing on the left side instead of him.

Defender Luke Chambers joined on loan from Liverpool last week too, with that arrival seemingly the catalyst to release Roussillon.

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Roussillon’s career

Roussillon arrived at Charlton as a thoroughly experienced defender, having played almost 350 games during his career.

The 32-year-old has played 20 games of European football, with 10 coming in the Champions League and 10 in the Europa League.

He played for Montpellier and Wolfsburg before moving on to sign for Union Berlin in January 2023.

At the end of last season, he was released by the German side, ending his successful five-year career in the Bundesliga.

Roussillon’s impressive CV meant that a move to Charlton in the Championship appeared to be a huge coup.

But instead, his time at the club has now already come and gone, with his next move unknown as things stand.