Lepaul Shares His Exciting “Incognito” Visit to Roazhon Park Before Signing with Rennes

Nearly three months after joining Rennes, Estéban Lepaul has quickly become one of the standout strikers in Ligue 1. Currently the second-highest scorer in the league before the thirteenth matchday, with 8 goals, the player who transferred from Angers this summer feels fully integrated into his new environment in Brittany. In an exclusive interview with L’Équipe, Lepaul shared a fun anecdote from just days before his signing while attending the Rennes-OM match at Roazhon Park.

“I was with my friend Pierrick Capelle (Angers). That morning, he asked, ‘Do you want to go see the match tonight?’ I replied, ‘Go ahead.’ As soon as we got out of the car, the supporters recognized us in the parking lot. Someone approached and said, ‘Look, it’s Capelle and Lepaul.’ Pierrick joked, ‘No, that’s not Lepaul at all; he’s my cousin.’ We took a photo, left, and sadly, we ran into those same people in the stadium. We were seated to the left behind the Rennes bench, and they told Pierrick, ‘Hey! Your cousin is playing against Paris FC this weekend!’ We had a good laugh, but we definitely stood out. Pierrick had said we’d go incognito. But I told him, ‘Pierrick, with you, we’re not going incognito anywhere.’ He has a lot of recognition as a veteran in Ligue 1. I was wearing a cap, but Pierrick wasn’t, so he got spotted pretty quickly,” said the Stade Rennais forward, who has since been a delight for the club.