clubs were at the time believed to be prepared to offer him a route back to England. With this being so, he was named as the club's permanent captain by manager Alain Perrin following the first league match of the 2009–10 Ligue 1 season, after having served as vice-captain the previous season. Tavlaridis was removed as captain shortly due to his long-term injury. This move saw his playing time reduced, where he played only six more matches in that season for Saint-Étienne. Tavlaridis in all made 69 appearances for the Ligue 1 team, scoring twice. AEL On 30 April 2010 AEL announced that an agreement had been reached with the 29-year-old centre-back who will join the club in the summer on a free transfer, when his contract with les Verts has been finally wound down. Nicknamed 'Taureau' in France because of his bullish style of play, the Greek was initially a success in Ligue 1 with Lille OSC and then AS Saint-Étienne, though he fell out of favour at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard earlier this season under head coach Alain Perrin. When the former Olympique Lyonnais boss was axed, Tavlaridis had an immediate chance to impress under Christophe Galtier, though his red card against Olympique de Marseille 10 minutes into Galtier's first game in charge effectively ended his first team career with les Verts. Tavlaridis signed a four-year deal. On 9 August 2011, however, Tavlaridis terminated his contract without following the team's relegation to the Football League. OFI On 24 August 2011, Tavlaridis signed a one-year contract for OFI, who then were newly promoted to the Greek Superleague. The ex-footballer and president of the club Nikos Machlas wanted to add to the roster a very experienced defender, who could also play the role of the defence leader. The annual salary was fixed to €150,000. However, due to the club's financial difficulties and payment inconsistencies, he decided to leave the club on 24 April 2012, before the 2011–12 campaign for OFI was over. Atromitos On 2 June 2012, Tavlaridis agreed to sign for Atromitos Athens. In February 2014, Tavlaridis agreed to extend his contract till June 2016. Panathinaikos In December 2014, Atromitos announced that Tavlaridis was transferred to Panathinaikos. Tavlaridis was delighted to sign with Panathinaikos, the team which he supported since youth. On 11 January 2015 he scored his first goal in a match against Ergotelis. It was his second appearance