 Germain in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Valère Bruno René Germain | ||
| Date of birth | (1990-04-17)17 April 1990 (age 35) | ||
| Place of birth | Marseille, France | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | ||
| Number | 98 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1996–2002 | ASPTT Orléans | ||
| 2002–2004 | Orléans | ||
| 2004–2005 | Châteauroux | ||
| 2005–2010 | Monaco | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2012 | Monaco II | 31 | (14) |
| 2010–2017 | Monaco | 159 | (41) |
| 2015–2016 | →Nice (loan) | 38 | (14) |
| 2017–2021 | Marseille | 120 | (22) |
| 2021–2023 | Montpellier | 65 | (6) |
| 2023–2025 | Macarthur FC | 45 | (19) |
| 2025– | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 22 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2012 | France U20 | 4 | (2) |
| 2011 | France U21 | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 29 October 2025 | |||
Valère Bruno René Germain (born 17 April 1990) is a French professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forJ1 League sideSanfrecce Hiroshima.
Valère Bruno René Germain[2] was born on 17 April 1990 inMarseille, Bouches-du-Rhône.[3] Germain is the son of former footballerBruno Germain.[citation needed]
In the 2009 off-season, Germain signed his first professional contract agreeing to a three-year deal. He had previously played in the MonacoChampionnat de France Amateur (CFA) team that won the reserve team title in the 2008–09 season.[4] Despite signing professional terms, the striker spent the next two seasons playing in the club's reserve team. Germain made his professional debut on 1 May 2011 in a league match againstSaint-Étienne appearing as a substitute.[5] He played in the team's final league match of the season againstLyon appearing as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat.[6] The defeat confirmed Monaco's relegation toLigue 2.[citation needed]
In the second division, Germain was permanently promoted to the senior team and, on 15 August 2011, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 loss againstReims.[7] In the following month, he scored his second career goal in a 2–2 draw againstSedan.[8] In the 2012–13 campaign, Germain scored 14 goals in 35 matches for AS Monaco as they got promoted to Ligue 1. On 23 July 2013, Germain signed a contract extension with Monaco, keeping him at the club until 2017.[9] Germain was part of theAS Monaco side that won the 2016–2017Ligue 1 title, contributing with 10 goals.[10]
In July 2015, Germain joinedNice on loan from Monaco. Nice had an option to buy him after the end of the loan spell.[11]
On 25 June 2017, Monaco announced that Germain had joinedMarseille. He scored his first goal on 28 July in theEuropa League third qualifying round againstOostende in his debut match for Marseille (4–2).[12]
On 3 May 2018, he played in theEuropa League semi-finals away toRed Bull Salzburg – Salzburg won the game 2–1 but Marseille progressed to the final with a 3–2 aggregate victory.[13] Germain missed a big chance early in thefinal asAtletico Madrid won 3–0 at theGroupama Stadium, inLyon.
Following his departure from Marseille in the summer of 2021, Germain remained on the south coast of France, signing for fellowLigue 1 sideMontpellier.
After his 2 year contract with Montpellier expired, Germain moved to Australia to sign for Sydney basedA-League clubMacarthur FC, signing a two-year deal.[14]
He made his debut for the club, starting in a forward position, againstShan United in theAFC Cup and scored his first goal, as well as setting up the third goal of the game, in a 3–0 win.[15] Two weeks later on 5 October 2023, he scored a brace in another AFC Cup match againstCebu, as well as, setting up one of the goals, in a 8–2 win.[16] Germain captained his first match as a Macarthur FC player againstCentral Coast Mariners on 29 October 2023, with captainUlises Dávila placed on the bench and scored the opener, in a 2–1 win.[17] After the match, managerMile Sterjovski praised his performance and hope that he continued to score more goals.[18] His impact at Macarthur FC was noticed by the Australian newspaperThe Daily Telegraph.[19] Germain spoke out about settling in Australia with his wife and son.[20] He then scored his first hat-trick in Australia, in a 4–3 win againstWestern Sydney Wanderers on 4 February 2024.[21]
On 6 April 2024, Germain scored the first everA-League Men goal at theWyndham Regional Football Facility, scoring a 17th minute penalty in an eventual 4–2 loss toWestern United.
On 11 February 2025, Germain was issued a 'Disciplinary Notice' after being cited byFootball Australia's Match Review Panel for an incident of referee abuse.[22] The following day, it was announced that Germain had received a two match suspension for his actions.[23] Having initially declared his intention to appeal the suspension, Germain instead decided to request a release from his contract with Macarthur FC, citing "refereeing standards" in Australia as his reason for wanting to leave and take up a contract offer with a club in Japan.[24][25]
On 27 February 2025, Germain signed a contract with Japanese clubSanfrecce Hiroshima.[26]
He scored on his club debut in the first leg of theAFC Champions League's quarter-finals, in a 6-1 win againstLion City Sailors.[27] However, it was emerged that Germain played the match while serving a suspension in the tournament and this led Sanfrecce Hiroshima's win being forfeited and awarded 3–0 to Lion City Sailors by the AFC Disciplinary Committee on 8 March 2025.[28] In the return leg, the club was eliminated from the tournament following a 1-1 draw.[29]
Germain was aFrance youth international having earned caps atunder-21 level. He made his under-21 debut on 2 June 2011 appearing as a substitute in a 1–0 win againstSerbia.[citation needed]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Monaco | 2010–11 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Ligue 2 | 34 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 10 | |||
| 2012–13 | Ligue 2 | 35 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 16 | |||
| 2013–14 | Ligue 1 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 5 | |||
| 2014–15 | Ligue 1 | 29 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 37 | 5 | ||
| 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 36 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 16[c] | 4 | — | 60 | 17 | ||
| Total | 159 | 41 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 19 | 4 | — | 202 | 53 | |||
| Nice (loan) | 2015–16 | Ligue 1 | 38 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 14 | ||
| Marseille | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 35 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17[d] | 7 | — | 55 | 18 | |
| 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 36 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | — | 42 | 8 | ||
| 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 25 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 2 | |||
| 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 5[c] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 32 | 3 | ||
| Total | 120 | 22 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 158 | 31 | ||
| Montpellier | 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 34 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 4 | |||
| 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 32 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 65 | 6 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 68 | 7 | |||||
| Macarthur FC | 2023–24 | A-League Men | 28 | 12 | 1 | 0 | — | 7[f] | 4 | — | 36 | 16 | ||
| 2024–25 | A-League Men | 17 | 7 | 4 | 4 | – | – | – | 21 | 11 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 19 | 5 | 4 | – | 7 | 4 | – | 57 | 27 | ||||
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 2025 | J1 League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 427 | 102 | 31 | 14 | 16 | 1 | 50 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 525 | 132 | ||
Monaco
Marseille
Macarthur FC
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
