Todd Cantwell issues farewell message to Rangers; midfielder joined Blackburn Rovers on Deadline Day, signing a three-year deal, after handing in a transfer request at Ibrox; "I have full respect for the manager but I didn't believe it was the right place for me to be," said Cantwell
Thursday 5 September 2024 18:05, UK
Todd Cantwell insists his Rangers exit has been "twisted" after sealing a move to Blackburn Rovers.
The 26-year-old arrived at Ibrox in January 2023 and showed promising signs under previous boss Michael Beale - ending his first season with six goals in their last nine league games.
However, changes followed, with Philippe Clement taking over from Beale last October and despite some good performances under the Belgian, Cantwell decided he wanted to leave the club.
He submitted two transfer requests and trained away from the first team this season before eventually sealing a move to the Championship club on Deadline Day.
"I loved my time at Rangers. It is a special, special football club," he said.
"Obviously during my time we didn't get the best of 'the others' as much as we'd have liked to but we were building in the right direction.
"The management changed, the sporting director and CEO changed too. It felt like a different place.
"When a new manager comes in they have to put their stamp on things, and I think we had a bounce last season when we got in a really good position to go on and do well.
"I have full respect for the manager at Rangers now but I didn't believe it was the right place for me to be and they were personal reasons."
News of Cantwell's decision to move on came to light following Rangers' pre-season friendly at Birmingham City, when Clement returned to his post-match news conference to inform the media the player wanted to leave the club.
However, Cantwell insists he never refused to play for Rangers.
He said: "I think there is a little bit of a misconception about how my time was at Rangers. It has been twisted a little bit in the goldfish bowl.
"It was his decision to tell the press that it was my decision. We spoke internally for a while and ultimately couldn't find a happy medium for both.
"I certainly didn't leave because I was being kicked out of the door. It felt like the right time as a player to move on.
"Me and the manager didn't see us going in the same direction in the same way, at the same time. It is nothing personal.
"The manager has a lot of players to deal with as well. I love the club so much.
"The one thing I'm desperate to clear up is, I never said I didn't want to play for Rangers. Those words never came out of my mouth and never would. Those decisions were taken out of my hands."
