Lilian Brassier: France and Togo defender joins Frankfurt from Rennes for €8.5m

France and Togo centre-back Lilian Brassier has joined Frankfurt from Stade Rennais for €8.5m, switching from Ligue 1 to the Bundesliga on a deal that runs until 30 June 2031.

The 26-year-old defender completed the move on 31 August 2026 and becomes a Frankfurt player after one season back at Rennes. Brassier is 1.86m tall and left-footed, offering the German club a central defender who can operate on the left side of the defence.

Brassier returns to Germany with a contract lasting five years, while Frankfurt have paid below his €12m market value for the transfer. He takes his career into a new league after spending the 2025-26 campaign with Rennes, although he did not make an appearance in Ligue 1 during the opening two matches of the 2026-27 season before moving clubs.

His previous spell at Rennes followed a permanent transfer from Stade Brestois in July 2025. Rennes paid €12m for the defender after he had returned to Brest from a loan spell at Marseille.

Brassier joined Marseille on loan from Brest in July 2024, but the move ended in January 2025. He then returned to Brest before joining Rennes on loan later that month, with that temporary spell concluding in June 2025.

The move to Frankfurt adds another chapter to a career that began in the Rennes system. Brassier progressed from Rennes’ under-17 side to Rennes B before spending time on loan at Valenciennes and Brest. Brest subsequently signed him permanently in July 2021 for €1.75m.

Born in Argenteuil on 2 November 1999, Brassier has France and Togo among his nationalities. His arrival at Frankfurt is his latest change of club after a sequence of moves involving Rennes, Brest and Marseille.

Brassier has joined Frankfurt from Stade Rennais for €8.5m and is contracted to the Bundesliga club until June 2031.