Vukasin, Jean-Michaël and Hatem say goodbye

The Serbian defender joined Bordeaux at the tender age of 20 back in January 2017. A graduate of the Red Star Belgrade youth set-up, "Vuka" joined us from Zenit Saint Petersburg. By the time he joined Bordeaux he was already marked out as one of Serbia's hottest young prospects, especially after his involvement in Serbia's World Cup U20 triumph in 2015. Vukasin became a regular member of Jocelyn Gourvennec's team, playing 24 matches in L1 in 2017. But things took a dramatic turn for the worse in 2018, when a combination of injury and a change of manager left Vuka sidelined, leading him to try his luck with a loan spell at Eibar, where he unfortunately failed to break into the first team. In subsequent seasons he earned the trust of both Eric Bedouet and Paulo Sousa, but he featured very little in the most recent campaign. A solid and physically-imposing defender, Vuka has had his share of ups and downs with the Girondins. Now aged 25, he is off to pastures new. We wish him every success in his next footballing challenge.

The former France international joined Bordeaux last summer, after a season with Valladolid. A player of immense talent, well known to football fans all over Europe, he started out with Lyon before enjoying spells with Marseille, Newcastle, Hull City, Nice, Paris SG and Stade Rennais, winning various trophies along the way. In his first months with the club Hatem showed flashes of that mercurial talent of old, scoring twice and providing five assists before Christmas. Highlights included the penalty he won against Nîmes to hand Jimmy Briand his 100th goal in Ligue 1, and of course his match-winning strike against Brest (1-0). Unfortunately, Hatem picked up an injury in January which compromised the rest of his season. Given the circumstances, the club has decided not to invoke the optional extra year on his contract. From everybody at the club: thank you for all your hard work, Hatem, and all the best for the next chapter.

The Ivorian international arrived in Bordeaux this January, on loan from Fulham. He first rose to prominence with Paços de Ferreira, in Portugal, after starting out with ASEC Mimosas. He has also played for Nice, Fulham and Galatasaray. Called in to provide cover for the injured Otavio, Jean-Michaël joined the club at a difficult time. His experience and technical qualities proved to be invaluable, and he gave his all to the successful relegation battle. Jean-Michaël will now be heading back to Fulham, and we wish him all the very best for the rest of his career.