Trémoulinas wants to play again at 40 with Bordeaux, relegated to Régional 1

Benoît Trémoulinas wants to lace up his boots again. At 40, the former French international left-back announced Tuesday his intention to play again with Bordeaux, a club relegated to Régional 1 after a long descent through sporting and institutional turmoil.

Formed at the club since 1994 and turning professional in 2007, Trémoulinas is among the last great Bordeaux players. He won the Ligue 1 title in 2009, as well as the League Cup and the Champions Trophy the same year, before adding the French Cup in 2013. His career then took him to Dynamo Kiev, AS Saint-Étienne and Sevilla FC, where he hung up his boots due to serious knee damage.

It is precisely this physical condition that determines his return. For five weeks, the former defender has undergone intensive preparation to assess whether his knee can withstand the demands of collective training. A three-week trial with the Bordeaux squad is planned in the coming days. If the results are conclusive and the board approves the project, Trémoulinas will sign officially.

“I want to help, to bring people together, to unite, to bring my experience,” he said, emphasizing his humble approach and lack of sporting pretension. This is not a return to the highest level — which he himself judges out of reach — but a gesture of attachment to a club he considers his own.

With the Gerard Lopez era closed, Bordeaux is starting over in the fifth tier of French football. The return of an emblematic figure from the 2009 title would carry strong symbolic value for a club seeking to rebuild both its identity and its results.