Romain SALIN

Romain Salin arrived at Stade Rennais in 2002 from Le Mans, but had to face the immediate fierce competition from his team-mate in the same generation: Simon Pouplin, as well as Florent Chaigneau and Grégory Douard. That said, his first season was marked by the victory in the Gambardella Cup Final (French FA Youth Cup) in 2003, where he was understudy to Chaigneau. In the face of the competition for places, Salin left the club after just one season to return to his native Mayenne where he joined Stade Lavaillois in July 2003. This move helped him towards his first professional contract with FC Lorient in 2004. Two season, and 11 matches later, he left Lorient to join Libourne on loan, and became first-choice goalkeeper there. In 2009/2010, he had an accomplished spell at Tours. After a long adventure in Portugal, punctuated by a short spell at Guingamp in Ligue 1, Romain Salin returned to Stade Rennais FC on 18th June 2019. Having won the Portuguese Cup with Sporting Lisbon, he signed on a free-transfer as back-up goalkeeper. It would be a status which he fulfilled quite well, despite being behind Mendy, Gomis and then Mandanda successively in the pecking order over his four seasons in his second spell with the club. He finished with 28 starts and 31 goals conceded in that time, with 97 matches where he was an unused substitute. He was sent off once, in a 2-1 victory against Ajaccio on 21st August 2022. He even participated in Rennes' European campaigns in the Europa League, the Champions League and the UEFA Conference League, given six starts in total over the three competitions. With young Turkish international goalkeeper, Dogan Alemdar, also leapfrogging him in the goalkeeping hierarchy at the club, and with dwindling game-time for the First Team, Salin found himself playing out the last games of the 2022/2023 season with the Reserves, and he was eventually released from his contract by mutual consent at the end of the campaign in June 2023, signing for Maritimo Funchal on 13th July 2023 on a one-year deal.