Jeremy Jacquet bid farewell to Rennes on a night that felt like both an ending and a handover. The 20-year-old centre-back received a personalised farewell gift during Rennes’ final home match against Paris FC, then posted a video on Instagram with the caption: “A wonderful last evening at Roazhon.”
Rennes beat Paris FC 2-1 to close their home schedule, and Jacquet’s send-off came with the club still in the hunt for Europe. They sat fifth in Ligue 1 and could secure a place in the Europa League next season by avoiding defeat against sixth-placed Marseille on the final day, a fixture Jacquet was expected to miss as he recovered from shoulder surgery and sat out Rennes’ last 11 Ligue 1 matches.
The farewell also underlined how far along Liverpool’s move for Jacquet has already gone. Earlier this year, the clubs agreed a pre-contract worth an initial £55million plus £5m in add-ons, with the defender staying at Rennes for the rest of the campaign before joining Liverpool this summer. Liverpool viewed the deal as a major coup and beat competition from Chelsea to sign him, a strong signal of how highly they rate the French defender.
Jacquet’s own words, issued in February through a statement on his behalf, made clear how he saw the move and the wait that followed. “I am honoured to sign for Liverpool, one of the greatest football institutions in the world,” he said. “It was also very important for me to finish my time in red and black on a high, at my boyhood club, the club of my heart.” He added that he was approaching the second half of the season with “the desire to experience some great moments with my teammates and the fans.”
For Rennes, the send-off fit the mood of a team that still had something to play for and a player they knew they would soon lose. For Liverpool, it is another step in a defensive rebuild that has become harder to ignore as Virgil van Dijk enters the final year of his contract and Ibrahima Konate has yet to agree a new deal. Jacquet’s summer arrival now looks less like a future promise and more like part of the plan already in motion.
What happens next is straightforward. Rennes finish their season at Marseille on Sunday, and after that Jacquet is due to complete his move and join Liverpool this summer.
