Jermain Defoe impressed by gestures of former Rangers teammates
Jermain Defoe has been reflecting on his time at Rangers and has showered praise on his former teammates at Ibrox, singling out Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo.
The 39-year-old terminated his contract with the Premiership giants last week after three-and-a-half years at the club, and was on talkSPORT this morning to talk about his experience playing for the side.
Defoe ended up with 32 goals in 74 games for the Gers, and he is not short of offers despite his age, with some English clubs keen on recruiting him.
He said: “My teammates… ah mate, I’m getting emotional. The boys are unbelievable. You know what it’s like, you sign for a club and obviously I came with a big reputation.
“All I wanted to do was go there and win. I was so desperate to win a league title. The boys were brilliant, I walked in and they were just brilliant from day one.
“I mentioned about the staff, Jimmy, the women in the canteen, Katie at the club who does all the admin, the stuff that she did for me and I spoke to her the other day and had to thank her. Going above and beyond. The things you don’t hear about.
“My teammates were just special, especially these young lads. I got messages from some of the boys.
“They call me uncle! Joe Aribo and Glen Kamara call me uncle. It’s so funny at this stage in my career.
“I’d come in the gym and the lads would be on their phones and say ‘uncle’s coming, uncle’s coming’.
“I will say something to them and they will say, ‘okay, uncle’. It’s just brilliant that appreciation from the boys.
“Joe Aribo messaged me the other day and sent a nice message saying ‘honoured to play with you, uncle. I feel so blessed I contributed to helping you get that league title’. These are special people.”
Class
Defoe clearly enjoyed every minute he spent with the Bears, and he would have wished to spend more time with them.
However, having struggled to play regularly this term under both Steven Gerrard and Giovanni van Bronckhorst, the veteran Englishman has decided to move on and continue playing elsewhere.
While he will not go down in history as a Rangers legend, fans are not going to forget the role he played in helping them land the title last season anytime soon.
Defoe has influenced a lot of the youngsters at the club given his massive experience, and it is a shame to see him leave abruptly.
Aribo, Kamara and co clearly enjoyed having the opportunity to play alongside such a player, and it is an experience they will forever cherish.
Rangers will look to bolster their attack this summer, but it could be tough to get someone like Defoe in.
In other Rangers news, the BBC are facing a multi-million-pound defamation action over Gers documentary.