Luke Ayling, Pascal Struijk & Stuart Dallas respond as Leeds United title-winner pens emotional goodbye | OneFootball

Illan Meslier’s emotional farewell prompted tributes from Leeds United favourites past and present after confirmation of his departure on a free.

Posting on Friday night, the player said in a post that he arrived in 2019 as a 19-year-old, found a club with unmatched passion, and felt Leeds shaped him as a goalkeeper and a person. He added that after seven years he is ready for a new challenge, but the city, the club and the shirt will always be part of him.

His contract expired last week, and the 26-year-old leaves with two Championship title-winner’s medals and memories of being a Premier League regular under Marcelo Bielsa. The final couple of seasons were harder, as he lost his place to Karl Darlow and did not make a first-team appearance last season.

Only Pascal Struijk has been at Leeds longer among the current squad, and a host of team-mates past and present offered support on Instagram.

Luke Ayling urged Meslier to be proud of his Leeds career and called him a top player and an even better person, while Stuart Dallas reflected on great times together and wished him well. Struijk said it had been a pleasure to play alongside him.

Josuha Guilavogui expressed faith in him from day one, Willy Gnonto labelled him a legend, and Joel Piroe sent good luck, calling him Casper. Barry Douglas hailed his big tall French buddy and wished him well, with Sebastiaan Bornauw and Dani van den Heuvel also sending warm messages for the future.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk