Captain James Tavernier has announced he will leave Rangers at the end of the season, after 11 years at Ibrox.
British football’s highest scoring defender, 34, has led the Glasgow side for the past eight years, winning the Scottish Premiership in 2021, the Scottish Cup the following year and the League Cup in 2023. He also skippered Rangers in their 2022 Europa League final appearance, which they lost on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt.
As a right-back, the Englishman has scored 144 goals in 562 Rangers appearances and 152 goals overall.
He said in an Instagram post that departing at the end of his current contract “hasn’t been an easy decision”.
“This club has been a huge part of my life and my family’s over the past 11 years,” he said.
“It’s given me so much, both on and off the pitch and from the moment I arrived, I’ve always tried to give everything I had to represent it in the right way.
“To have had the honour of being made captain of this club since 2018 is something I will always be incredibly proud of. Leading this team out, wearing the armband and being trusted in that role has meant more to me that I can properly put into words.”
Nine managers, two divisions, three major trophies
Former Newcastle player Tavernier was signed by Mark Warburton from Wigan in the summer of 2015, when Rangers were in the Scottish Championship.
He helped the Ibrox side win that division and captained the side in the absence of the injured Lee Wallace as Warburton made way for Pedro Caixinha.
When Steven Gerrard arrived as Rangers manager in 2018, Tavernier became captain full-time as Wallace’s contract ran down and was pivotal part of the Gerrard title-winning team, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Europa League final and Scottish Cup-winning side and Philippe Clement’s League Cup victors.
Tavernier also wore the armband during Michael Beale, Barry Ferguson and Russell Martin’s brief stints as boss. This season under Danny Rohl since October, the defender has not been an automatic starter, with Dujon Sterling often preferred at right-back.
Jack Butland and Nico Raskin have deputised as captain, with both still under contract next season.
More to follow.
- Tavernier confirms no offer yet of new Rangers contract
- Visit our Rangers page for all the latest news, analysis and fan views
