Jermain Defoe has kicked his last ball for Rangers, and with it, there is every chance that his playing days are over.
The former England international has been seen more in the Sky Sports studios than in Light Blue this season which makes the decision to give him another year on his contract as a player an even more strange one.
With 10 assists and 32 goals in 76 games, Defoe’s record is better than anything we could have expected for a player of his age especially when you consider he was only ever signed as a back up and got a run of games on the odd occasion that Alfredo Morelos was suspended, however, his time and availability last season simply didn’t merit paying what would have been a handsome salary – goals against Celtic and Aberdeen in the final games would have been met with as loud a roar as he would have heard in his career though, if only had fans been allowed inside Ibrox to see them.
Yes, he joined the coaching staff under Steven Gerrard as well but we managed without a striker specialist before which makes me think that it has been a case of an old mate squaring away another and allowing Defoe to fulfil his dream of playing for the champions in front of a packed Ibrox.
Sentiment is rarely allowed in professional sport but perhaps, just this once, we can allow it.
Defoe has been a consummate professional throughout his career and it’s no coincidence that Morelos became a better player when he was taken under the wing of a striker with 300 goals in his career, a landmark reached with a typically perfect finish against Livingston.
With Giovanni van Bronckhorst bringing in his own striker coach in the shape of Roy Makaay and recalling Cedric Itten, Defoe was going to be even further from the bench never mind the pitch but, just as the curtain was closing on a long and successful career he can be happy that he achieved what he set out too – a league title and helping his mate become a Rangers hero.