Newcastle flop suffers third relegation in three years

Matt Morley 5 years ago 767
Riviere has been relegated three times in three years. AFP

Emmanuel Riviere hasn't had the best time of things in recent years, with Metz's relegation from Ligue 1 making it three in three years for the striker.

The 28-year-old flopped in England, scoring just one league goal for the club in 26 games. His second season on Tyneside was an unmitigated disaster, featuring in just three games and playing just 63 minutes of football after mssing a large spell out with a meniscus tear.

The season ended on a bum note for Newcastle as well, with the arrival of Rafa Benitez unable to stave off relegation to the Championship.

With Benitez seemingly unvoncinvced by his talents, Riviere was shipped out on loan to La Liga side Osasuna last season, where he failed to score in 15 appearances as the Pamplona-based side slipped through the relegation trapdoor and into the Segunda.

In the summer of 2017, Riviere completed a permanent move to Ligue 1 club Metz, looking to put his nightmareish couple of years behind him and things seemed to get off to a promising start as he found the net against PSG on his debut, albeit in a losing cause.

However, a run of just one goal in the final 17 games of the season followed, with Metz eventually finishing bottom of the French top flight, 12 points from safety as they signed off with a 4-0 defeat to Bordeaux on the final day.

Three years, three countries, three relegations for Emmanuel Riviere, who must surely be starting to think that he is cursed.

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