In the summer, Andy Delort (32) will begin the search for his 13th club after terminating his contract with Qatar-based Umm Salal.
There were frightening scenes in January when Delort collapsed during the Qatar Stars Cup final against Al-Arabi. The club captain was carried off the pitch on a stretcher shortly after scoring. The medical team checked the player and he was well enough to return to the sidelines before lifting the trophy for his side at the final whistle.
According to L’Équipe, he then flew to Corsica where he underwent an ECG which returned reassuring results. A series of tests followed in Doha which came to the conclusion that Delort had suffered an epileptic fit brought on by fatigue from stress and a severe flu. Despite suffering from this episode, his decision to leave Umm Salal was completely unrelated to it.
https://twitter.com/ummsalalsc/status/1757054742897758615?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1757054742897758615%7Ctwgr%5E6861bff63b1cf701418925acf3d2c88f5d5c74ed%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lequipe.fr%2FFootball%2FArticle%2FApres-avoir-mis-un-terme-a-son-aventure-au-qatar-andy-delort-veut-retrouver-la-l1-la-saison-prochaine%2F1448491
Father of two young children, Delort was concerned that his family were struggling to adapt to their life in Doha since he joined the club last summer. He was particularly worried that his 11-year-old son was deeply unhappy and so began the process of terminating his contract.
Delort found an agreement with Umm Salal that allowed for him to leave Qatar and move his family back to Ajaccio, where the striker has kept a house since 2013. However, he has no intention of ending his career and hopes that the summer will represent an opportunity for him to return to a French team, preferably in Ligue 1.
Unable to find a club until then due to the nature of his termination. Delort will seek authorisation to train with AC Ajaccio in an attempt to not only maintain his physical health but recover mentally from a deeply concerning period.
