‘Leaving England is scary but I’m here to win’: Charlie Cresswell on Ligue 1 life and his international dream

“Leaving England is such a scary, scary decision,” says Charlie Cresswell. It is a decision that he never thought he would make. His father Richard made a career as a journeyman footballer in England; his brother Alfie was coming through Leeds’ academy; Charlie was already on the fringes of the Yorkshire club’s first team when the opportunity to join Toulouse arose in 2024.

“That was the biggest decision I made in football,” he says. “I’ve been a Leeds fan since I was eight. I’d been at the club since I was 10 but, looking back, I was 20 years old with no games, and I needed to get out and go play,” says Cresswell, now at Rennes and preparing to face Juventus in the Europa League.

He insists that proving a point to his formative club is not his intention, even if it is a natural by-product of his rise. “I think of it like I’m here doing my job, working as hard as I can, making a career for myself,” he says. A loan spell at Millwall didn’t provide an opening for Cresswell, who would make just 14 appearances for Leeds’ senior side. He wanted more. Opportunities arose in England. He chose France.

Attracting attention from Toulouse – the Brighton of French football, commended for their data-led approach – is always a good sign. The defender was a mainstay. From a possible 68 games in Ligue 1, he started 57 times for Carles Martínez Novell across two seasons before getting his move to Rennes last summer. “I had options to go back to England,” he says. Brighton had been linked with the former England youth international. The decision to stay in France was made after a discussion with his partner.

Whereas Toulouse have lived in the comfort of midtable in recent seasons, expectations are higher at Rennes, who aim for the Champions League places. “There’s that expectation to win games,” says the centre-back. “That was important for the next step. At this moment in my career, being 24, it’s about keeping building to get where you want to get to. I was picking the right place where I can grow again and keep improving. And the next step for me was to play in Europe and especially to have that expectation to win because, with where I want to go, I’m going to need to build that know-how of how to win games under pressure.”

From his time at Leeds, Cresswell knows Raphinha, Joe Rodon and Glen Kamara, all of whom played at Roazhon Park, as well as Djed Spence, a former England Under-21 teammate, who spent time on loan at Rennes from Tottenham. He didn’t need any of them to put in a good word. “It’s a club that sells itself,” he says.

Rennes are unbeaten in the Europa League this season (one win, one draw). How far can they go? “No limits, there are no limits. It would be stupid to put limits on ourselves. Why not? We can say that we can win it.” A trip to Juventus awaits on Thursday. It is no exaggeration to say that this is the biggest game of his career. Despite excelling in Ligue 1, and in particular against PSG earlier this season, he can forge a reputation on the European stage and perhaps force his way into the England conversation. That’s the idea.

“I’ve always said ever since I was a kid, it’s my biggest, biggest dream to play for my country. All I can do is carry on working,” says Cresswell, who can look to the likes of Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen) and Trevoh Chalobah (Como) as inspiration. “It gives you hope. It gives you motivation that, if you’re doing well abroad and in Europe, they’ll give you a look, and they’ll give you a chance,” says Cresswell, who was a two-time European champion with the Under-21s.

Angel Gomes was given his England debut while he was a Lille player; Ethan Nwaneri also trained with the England squad over the summer despite a difficult loan spell at Marseille last season. Ligue 1 has garnered a reputation as a league where young players develop, and Cresswell says that he feels like he’s “come on leaps and bounds as a player” since moving to France.

“And I feel like I’ve got so much more to improve on, which is exciting,” he adds. Cresswell is being pushed in training by Esteban Lepaul in particular. The Rennes forward was the top scorer in Ligue 1 last season; he is top of the goal charts this time around, too, and recently earned his first France caps.

“I call him the Jamie Vardy of France,” jokes Cresswell, a reference to Lepaul’s career path from dropping out of Lyon’s academy to working his way back to the top via amateur football during his mid-twenties. “He’s always ready for that chance. I see it in training as well. He hits the ball so hard; he’s a killer in front of goal,” says Cresswell.

With Lepaul banging in the goals, could Rennes mount a title challenge? It’s at this point that Cresswell gets a little philosophical. “I don’t really think about where we’ll finish. I think about what’s going to happen at the weekend and how we need to go about doing our best against the next game, and then the next game. It’s always the next. It’s never about looking at where I’m going to be in 10 months or at the end of the season, because that’s not the fun bit.

“The fun bit is the journey and the fun bit is the training every single day and the enjoyment of the matches, seeing the fans, being around it all. People get carried up so much in the destination rather than enjoying the journey” Cresswell doesn’t make that mistake. He may one day move back to England but that doesn’t even cross his mind: “I’m not rushing back at all. I’m not looking at it as ‘I’m here to go back.’ No, I’m here to work and I’m here to win.”

Talking points

Paris Saint-Germain once again had to call in the cavalry against Strasbourg. Unlike against Le Mans a week prior, Ousmane Dembélé was in the squad, although he did not start. He was joined on the bench by Achraf Hakimi, Désiré Doué, Vitinha and Nuno Mendes. And once again, the A-team was called into action.

When they came on a week earlier, PSG had been drawing against Le Mans; against Strasbourg, Les Parisiens were trailing. Despite missing a penalty, a well-rested Dembélé proved the difference, setting up Illia Zabarnyi’s equaliser before scoring the goal that completed the comeback and put PSG ahead in the 85th minute. Doué added a third in injury time. Brest, Marseille, Le Mans and Strasbourg have all pushed PSG, foiling Luis Enrique’s squad management plans – not that it mattered against Manchester City. Barcelona could prove a sterner test this week.

The game of the weekend was in the capital. Paris FC beat fellow European contenders Rennes in a seven-goal thriller at the Stade Jean Bouin. Esteban Lepaul’s three penalties – the last of which came in the 88th minute – looked to have salvaged a point for the Breton club. However, Lassine Sinayoko, who had put Paris FC ahead 12 minutes earlier, earned and converted an injury-time penalty. Liam Rosenior’s excellent start to life in Paris continues. They are one of the five clubs with 14 points at the top of the table.