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Sometimes, falling down is the best way to learn how to get back up. Stade Brestois forward Rémy Labeau Lascary (22) knows that better than most. At just 22 years old, the young forward already understands how brutal a fall can be, but also the beauty of getting back on your feet. In the winter of 2024, it was a torn cruciate ligament in his left knee that marked his ‘fall’.
“It was difficult to deal with because it happened at a time when I was playing well and scoring goals. Getting injured when I was on such a good run wasn’t easy,” Labeau Lascary told Get French Football News. At the time, the forward was playing for Lens, the club where he came through the ranks.
Returning from a successful loan spell at Stade Lavallois in Ligue 2, he established himself as an important member of Will Still’s squad last season. All that changed in mid-December, following a trip to AJ Auxerre, which marked one of the first major turning points in his early career. But for the Guadeloupe native, the experience ultimately allowed him to put his own situation into perspective.
“In life, there is always worse. I was in hospital and I saw people who could no longer walk. That helped me see the positive side,” he explained.“I think God allowed me to realise how lucky I am to be healthy. It has become a source of strength to be able to get back to doing what I love. Going through this has made me stronger.”
Labeau Lascary admits he was sometimes “afraid” of relapsing, especially given the experiences of some of his peers. That is why he is enjoying his return to the pitch all the more.
It is now at Stade Brestois, on loan from Lens, that he is rediscovering the sensations he has been deprived of for many months. “Getting back on the pitch, scoring goals and playing match after match is a very positive thing. I’m very happy,” he said. “A forward is judged onhis statistics, and scoring always feels good mentally and physically.”
So far this season, Labeau Lascary has already scored five goals, including one against Lille, his home club’s arch-rival. But the goalscorer is not interested in taking any personal credit for this achievement. “It’s good to score. I was in a beautiful stadium in the North, but for me, it’s no different. It’s a goal that helps the team, and that’s what matters most,” he insisted.
“I think we need two or three more wins to stay up. We’re going to focus on that and then see what happens.” A battle for survival that Labeau Lascary could and should have fought under the colours of another Ligue 1 club. Angers, to be more precise, where his loan from RC Lens had been confirmed. Or rather, seemed to have been. At least until 29th August when the DNCG, French football’s financial watchdog, declared the contract signed by Labeau Lascary null and void.
The reason? SCO’s inability to comply with the ‘payroll and transfer compensation framework’ imposed on them by the financial authority. “I signed with Angers, spent a week there and everything was going well. Except that my contract wasn’t approved by the DNCG,” he explained, reflecting on his hasty departure for Brest.
“When I got the news, there were only 24 hours left before the transfer window closed,” added the Frenchman. “Brest had already been in touch with me before I signed with Angers, so it all happened pretty quickly.”
A stroke of luck that, in his eyes, was no coincidence. “I am a very religious person. It is by the grace of God that I ended up here. I immediately felt very comfortable with my teammates and the staff,” he said happily.
“I am surrounded by good people. I have my family and my girlfriend. I also suffered a serious injury. I had to put things into perspective. Just being able to play football again was incredible for me.”
Although he is now thriving in his adventure in Brittany, Labeau Lascary has not forgotten Lens, whose exploits he follows closely: “I came up through their ranks, I experienced everything there. I’m very happy with what they’re achieving.“ Under contract with Les Sang et Or until 2028, the promising forward is not looking ahead to next season just yet.
“I give everything I can in training and in matches, and we’ll see what happens at the end of the year,“ he tempered. But it’s hard to imagine that the prospect of playing in the Champions League with his long-time club, which are likely to qualify for the 2026-27 edition, isn’t somewhere in the back of his mind.