Long-serving centre-half Connor Goldson has left Rangers to join Cypriot club Aris Limassol for an undisclosed fee, saying “it hurts” to have to say goodbye to the Glasgow team’s fans via social media.
The 31-year-old Englishman, who has signed a three-year contract with Aris, spent six years at Ibrox after leaving Brighton & Hove Albion.
Recruited by then-manager Steven Gerrard, Goldson played over 300 games for the Scottish Premiership club.
However, he missed the final seven games of last season, and team boss Philippe Clement confirmed that the center-back also missed last week’s friendly with Birmingham City following a “concrete offer” for the long-serving defender.
“It’s my time to get off the train and the ride that we have been on together for the last six years, Goldson wrote on Instagram. “This is really hard to write, but I think that it is the right time to write it.
“What a six years it has been and what a pleasure it has been to be part of this amazing football club. We went through many highs and many lows, but throughout this journey I can promise you that I gave this club everything I had.
“I tried to lead by example every single day I walked into that building and strived to make the club a better place than when I signed.
“It wasn’t perfect and neither was I, but I can honestly sit here and look myself in the mirror and say I gave it my all and nobody cared more.
“I haven’t been able to properly say goodbye. It hurts that this is the way it has to be as it’s never been my way.”
Goldson played a crucial role in Rangers’ undefeated 2020-21 Scottish title win, during which they conceded only 10 goals in 38 matches.
He was also instrumental in the team’s journey to the 2021-22 Europa League final and went on to win both a Scottish Cup and a League Cup with Rangers.
Aleksey Shpilevsky’s Aris, the defending champions, missed out on European football this season. Despite finishing second to APOEL Nicosia in the regular season, they ended up fourth after the title play-off round.
Swedish center-half Franz Brorsson left Aris this summer to join Athens club Atromitos in the Greek Super League.
Goldson becomes the sixth long-serving player to leave Rangers this summer. Croatia left-back Borna Barisic and midfielder John Lundstram have both joined Trabzonspor, while Scotland midfielder Ryan Jack, striker Kemar Roofe, and goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin are seeking new clubs.
So far, two 20-year-olds have been added to Clement’s defense: center-half Clinton Nsiala, formerly of AC Milan, and left-back Jefte, acquired from Fluminense.