Leon Balogun ‘privilege’ to play with Jermain Defoe at Rangers after retirement news
Former Rangers striker Jermain Defoe announced his retirement from football today (24 March) after a professional career spanning 22 years.
The 39-year-old, who scored more than 150 goals in the Premier League, joined the Gers in 2019 and enjoyed three very successful years at Ibrox until this year.
He left the club having played very little this season to join Sunderland on a short-term deal but he has now decided to hang up his boots for good at a professional level.
The Englishman was bombarded with well wishes from people from every corner of the footballing world, including Rangers defender Leon Balogun.
“LEGEND,” the Nigerian wrote in response to Defoe’s Instagram post. “All the best for whatever comes next. What a privilege to have played and shared a dressing room with you. Enjoy retirement o.”
Fellow Gers defender Borna Barisic also responded quickly to the post saying: “All the best, brate (brother).”
Underrated
Defoe will go down as one of the game’s great strikers but he still gets overlooked or forgotten about at times and that isn’t right.
The sheer amount of goals he scored throughout his career is simply mind-blowing and that didn’t stop when he came to Rangers either.
In just his first season in Scotland, the poacher bagged 21 goals for the Light Blues and once his move was made permanent the following season, he scored a further four in 17 matches.
Maybe he was slowing down towards the end of his career but his impact at Ibrox goes beyond his own goal tally.
He helped mentor and polish Alfredo Morelos for years into one of the continent’s best strikers and now Giovanni van Bronckhorst is reaping those rewards ten-fold.
Everyone at Rangers has a lot to thank Defoe for and his impact will keep on coming for years to come.
In other Rangers news, Chris Jack has admitted that there is “every chance” that this Light Blues ace could be sold this summer.