Charles Berthelot was born in
Rennes on 19 February 1901, as the son of a locally based shoe manufacturer. He began his football career in 1918, aged 17, at
Drapeau de Fougères (Flag of
Fougères), with whom he played for one season until 1920, when he moved to the football section of Stade Rennais.In his first season at the club, he only played one match in the regional championship, against Stade Lavallois on 12 December 1920. In the 1921–22 season, Berthelot played a crucial role in Rennes' excellent run in the
Coupe de France, which saw the Breton team reach the
final after knocking out the likes of
JA Saint-Ouen,
Le Havre,
Olympique Lillois, and
Olympique de Paris, before falling in the final to
Red Star (0–2). During this last match, Berthelot was unconscious for a while after hitting the post during a save. In 1923, Berthelot helped Rennais win the
Brittany Football League, and in 1924, he returned to
Drapeau de Fougères, which had just been promoted to the ''Division d'honneur'', and while there, he regularly met his former Rennes teammates. Thanks to his good performances in the Coupe de France with Fougères, he was called up by France for the second time on 13 May 1928, as a substitute goalkeeper for
Stade Brest's
Alex Thépot in
Colombes. He stayed loyal to Fougères for eight years until 1932, when he retired, aged 31. ==International career==