Lyon officially announced on Friday that 31-year-old Dutch center-back Hans Hateboer has joined the club on loan from Rennes. He will play for Lyon until the end of the season as a "joker" (special signing), with his salary fully covered by Lyon.

Hans Hateboer came through the youth academy at FC Groningen and moved to Atalanta for €1.04 million in January 2017. He played for Atalanta for seven and a half years, making 245 appearances, scoring 12 goals and providing 21 assists, and winning a Europa League title with the team.

In August 2024, Hateboer joined Rennes for 2.7 million euros. However, he has only played 29 times for Rennes so far, 9 of which were substitutes.

Due to limited playing time, Hateboer had originally planned to leave the club this summer. Although he ultimately chose to stay at Rennes, he only made one substitute appearance under Habib Beye's tactical system. For Habib Beye, Jérémie Jacquet, Antoine Rouault, Alidou Seydou, and Lilian Brassier all took priority over Hateboer.

Lyon, on the other hand, sees Khatbur as a potential replacement for Moussa Nyakhaté and Clinton Mata, who will represent their respective countries at the Africa Cup of Nations from December to January, leaving Lyon short of defenders.

After completing the transfer, Hateboer said: "I remember that it was probably a few weeks ago when my agent called me and told me about a rule that I had no idea about before, the so-called 'joker' clause. He then asked me if I would like to move to Lyon. I immediately responded: 'As long as it is possible and the clause is suitable for me, I would like to join.'

“I spoke to my family and their advice was, ‘If this is an opportunity, don’t miss it.’ We started preparing a few weeks ago. We did some packing at home and then had more time to do it during the international break. Last week, we got the official go-ahead from the club and now it’s just a matter of packing the last few boxes before we can leave.”

"I remember when my agent first told me about it. I had already gotten to know the surroundings a little bit, but I was mainly in contact with French players. I tried to get some information from them indirectly and received positive feedback. The French staff in Rennes also spoke highly of Lyon."

"I played alongside Ferland Mendy and Memphis Depay in the national team, and they also spoke highly of the club. I visited Lyon about nine or ten years ago and was very impressed. When I was growing up, Lyon was the king of French football. So when they came to me, I was very proud."

It is understood that Harteboer will wear the No. 33 jersey at Lyon.