Malbranque terminates Saint-Etienne contract

Published: 06 Sep 2011 - 12:00:16

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Malbranque terminates Saint-Etienne contract

Saint-Etienne announced on Tuesday that they have agreed to cancel Steed Malbranque's contract after he said he no longer wished to play for the club due to personal problems.

The 31-year-old midfielder joined the French side from English team Sunderland in August.

Having ruled himself out of Saint-Etienne's Ligue 1 match at Sochaux on August 28, he is believed to be contemplating retirement.

In a statement on their website, Saint-Etienne also said that they and Malbranque "strongly denied" internet rumours that his decision had been taken due to health problems concerning either him or his children.

Malbranque began his professional career with Lyon before leaving France for England in the summer of 2001 when he joined Fulham.

He subsequently joined Tottenham Hotspur and then Sunderland, playing a total of over 300 league games in the English top flight.