£8m defender Papy Djilobodji saw his contract terminated by Sunderland before joining Ligue 1 oufit Guingamp.
You’d probably be advised not to mention Papy Djilobodji on Wearside. Rarely has one player turned his own fans against him in such fashion.
An £8 million signing from Chelsea in the summer of 2016, Sunderland made it clear to Djilobodji that he had no future at the Stadium of Light once the club were relegated to League One last year.
But rather than leaving with his head held high, the 30-year-old’s situation quickly descended into a farce.
After returning from a poor loan spell with Dijon, Djilobodji failed to secure a move away and Sunderland were forced to terminate his £30,000 a week contract when the much-maligned centre-back failed to turn up for pre-season friendly, as reported by The Sun.
Now, Sunderland’s ongoing tragicomedy appears to have been renewed for another season after a heart-wrenching end to the 2018/19 campaign, comprising two Wembley final defeats in the space of two months. But Sunderland have still had the last laugh when it comes to Djilobodji.
He joined Guingamp in January after a spell out of the game and things could hardly have gone worse. A 9-0 drubbing against PSG on his debut set the tone and, five months after signing, Guingamp were relegated from Ligue 1.
Djilobodji started just two league games and was left out of the squad for each of Guingamp’s final four games.
And you won’t find many Sunderland fans who are feeling sorry for him.
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