Fulham have confirmed that their long serving goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli has left the club.
Fulham will compete in the EFL Championship next season following their relegation down from the Premier League under Scott Parker.
Alphonse Areola played 36 out of the 38 top flight games between the sticks last time out, with Marek Rodak deputising in goal in the other two.
Bettinelli was surplus to requirements last season as the England U21 international joined Championship side Middlesbrough on a season-long loan deal. He was the number one choice at the Riverside playing the first 41 games of the campaign before a dip in form saw him replaced by Jordan Archer.
There were rumours linking him with a move back to Middlesbrough this summer, but Neil Warnock’s side have instead opted for Queens Park Rangers shot stopper Joe Lumley.
Bettinelli has now departed Craven Cottage having spent 15 years at the club. He was the club’s longest serving player having joined back in 2006 at the age of just 14. He played 150 times for the Cottagers since making his debut in 2014.
He gave an interview to the club’s official website upon the announcement of his departure. He thanked the support from the fans and the club.
“To have joined the Academy at the age of 14 and gone on to make the memories I have and lived every boy’s dream is just unbelievable,” said Bettinelli.
“To have worn the number one shirt is a massive thing for me. I feel extremely proud and extremely fortunate to have done that.
“My time at Fulham was mad special. I’ve been a fan, I’ve sat in the seat of a fan when I was kid watching the First Team play Juventus and stuff like that, so I’ve always had the Club in my heart.
“I started at the Club as a boy and matured into a man, and made some incredible memories with the fans.”
Where he plays his club football next season remains to be seen.
At 29-years-old he still has plenty of seasons left to give and will likely be handed several lifelines to get his footballing career back on track after a rocky loan spell at Boro in his most recent outing.
Fulham FC statement by Geoff Pruce
We can confirm that Marcus Bettinelli has officially departed Fulham following the expiry of his contract at the end of last month.
The Club’s longest serving player, Bettinelli had been at the Club for 15 years, having joined in July 2006 at the age of 14.
The goalkeeper moved up the age groups before gaining some vital first team experience during successful loan spells with Dartford and Accrington Stanley, winning Young Player of the Season with the latter.
He was given a senior Fulham debut by Felix Magath the following season in a 1-0 win over Brentford in the League Cup, but it was when his former youth team boss Kit Symons took over that he really established himself in the First Team.
Following Symons’ appointment, Bettinelli played in all but two of our remaining 45 fixtures – missing one league match through suspension, while being rested once in the cup – as Fulham pulled clear of the relegation zone. His form saw him come second, behind Ross McCormack, in the Club’s Player of the Season vote.
Handed the number one jersey in 2015/16, Bettinelli found himself battling new signing Andy Lonergan for game time, but after re-establishing his place between the sticks suffered a nasty injury after colliding with teammate Matt Smith at Hull City just a few games into the campaign.
A gruelling seven months of rehabilitation followed, but Bettinelli fought his way back to fitness to start our final nine matches of the season.
That summer, the Whites’ goalkeeping union had a new member when David Button joined, with the pair effectively sharing the gloves for the subsequent two campaigns as Fulham reached consecutive Play-Offs, with varying success.
On each occasion, Bettinelli ended the season as the Club’s first choice. But while 2016/17 had a gutting ending at the Madejski, a year later Betts was celebrating a clean sheet at Wembley as Fulham defeated Aston Villa in the Play-Off Final.
It wasn’t his busiest afternoon in a Fulham shirt, but his save to deny Jack Grealish at the end of a mazy run was fantastic, particularly as it took a deflection on its way.
The photos of Marcus celebrating with his father Vic – our Academy Goalkeeping Coach – at full-time was a beautiful representation of what the victory meant.
Bettinelli made his Premier League debut in a 4-2 victory over Burnley, and a month later led the team out as Captain in an away fixture at Everton.
It was around this time that he was given back-to-back call-ups to the senior England squad, having previously made a number of appearances for the Under-21s.
In 2019/20, Betts made 14 Championship appearances as the Whites returned to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Marek Rodák finished the season in goal, but often spoke of the support given to him by Bettinelli during that time.
A vocal presence on the pitch and an excellent shot-stopper, Bettinelli has been a fantastic servant to Fulham Football Club.
His efforts on the pitch are also matched off it, with Betts always keen to get involved in community and Foundation events, as well as anything involving the fans, for whom he always had all the time in the world.
Bettinelli departs having played 120 times for Fulham. His huge personality around Motspur Park will be missed on a daily basis, and we all wish him nothing but the best in his next chapter.
We look forward to welcoming him back to the Cottage either as an opposition player or a guest in the not too distant future.
“To have joined the Academy at the age of 14 and gone on to make the memories I have and lived every boy’s dream is just unbelievable,” Betts said. “To have worn the number one shirt is a massive thing for me. I feel extremely proud and extremely fortunate to have done that.
“My time at Fulham was mad special. I’ve been a fan, I’ve sat in the seat of a fan when I was kid watching the First Team play Juventus and stuff like that, so I’ve always had the Club in my heart.
“To come through the Academy and play on the pitch that I used to watch the likes of Mark Schwarzer on, will always be special to me.
“I started at the Club as a boy and matured into a man, and made some incredible memories with the fans.”
And was that day at Wembley in the blazing May sunshine three years ago the highlight?
“Without a doubt. If you had said to a 14-year-old me that I would one day play at Wembley in front of the White Wall, I never would have believed you. So to have done that and then gone on to play in the Premier League at Craven Cottage was something so special and something that I’ll hold forever in my heart.
“The day at Wembley was just ridiculous but, strangely, the day we played Burnley at home in the Prem was a really emotional day.
“Because I’d always watched Fulham in the Premier League growing up, to then represent us in the Premier League having come through the Academy, that day will always be special.”
To see an Academy product go on to have the impact Bettinelli did is a wonderful thing to witness, and the goalkeeper is extremely grateful for the role the fans have played along the way.
“I just want to say a massive thank you to them,” he said. “They’ve supported me from day one at Brentford away in the cup, all the way through.
“Even when I’ve been out on loan, they’ve always backed me. They’ve always supported me regardless of what’s been happening or how we’ve been playing.
“To have that bond with them is special. I’ll never forget the feeling of running towards the Hammy End and hearing my name being shouted, hearing the fans roar.”
Tony Khan said: “Marcus Bettinelli has been an important part of Fulham Football Club for many years. Since stepping up from our Academy, Betts made major contributions to our First Team.
“He’s helped create some important moments in Club history, including his contributions to our Play-Off campaigns in 2017, 2018, and 2020, particularly the clean sheet he kept at Wembley in our 2018 Play-off Final win against Aston Villa.
“He’s also a great friend to so many of us at the Club and has been a great mentor to our younger players. We’ll miss Marcus very much, and he’ll always be considered part of the Fulham family.”