Christophe Revault, former goalkeeper of Le Havre, but also of Paris-SG, Rennes and Toulouse, died suddenly at the age of 49, announced Thursday, May 6, the Norman club.
“It is a huge Monsieur du HAC who leaves us and leaves the orphan club of one of its most brilliant HACMan. All our thoughts are with his family and his two children ”, the club said in a statement. “We are losing one of our own, a very endearing personality and an unconditional lover of both HAC and Le Havre”, added club president Vincent Volpe.
In the world of football, tributes quickly poured in, starting with that of Paris-Saint-Germain, who spoke of his “Deep sadness” on social networks.
It is with deep sadness that Paris Saint-Germain learned of the death of their former goalkeeper Christo… https://t.co/U7y6GMDda9
Rennes and Toulouse in mourning
The Rennes and Toulouse clubs, several Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs, as well as many players who have played alongside Revault have also expressed their grief and recalled their memories of this smiling goalkeeper, with an imposing physique, very expressive on the ground.
It is with great sadness that Stade Rennais FC learned of the disappearance of Christophe Revault, former ga… https://t.co/u8sf0AYYBT
Born in the Paris region, Revault was spotted by Le Havre during a youth match in 1988. He then joined the training center of the dean of French clubs before gradually establishing himself in the professional team, then in L1 , and to become a darling of the Le Havre public.
Smooth skull, like Barthez
In the summer of 1997, he joined PSG, with the difficult task of ensuring the succession of Bernard Lama. The adventure was not easy, however, especially after a 5-1 suffered one night against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, which undermined his confidence.
This failure also shattered his chances of joining the France team before the World Cup. But the 1998 World Cup left a mark on him, since, following a bet on the evening of the final, he began to sport a smooth skull like that of Fabien Barthez. He then bounced back in Rennes, before spending six years in Toulouse, then returning to Rennes with a second goalkeeper status. In 2007, he became number 1 again at Le Havre, where he helped the team to return to Ligue 1.
He hung up the gloves in 2010, at the age of 38 and after having played more than 450 professional matches, but he remained in the organizational chart of the club, as manager, sports director or recruiter, also ensuring several interim as that coach. He was the father of two children.