Luke Ayling is among the first of Liam Cooper’s former Leeds United teammates to send him a message on social media after his exit from Elland Road.
The Whites finally officially announced Cooper‘s departure earlier this afternoon after his move to Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia was confirmed.
Cooper has been without a club for over two months since the expiration of his contract at Elland Road, but Leeds have held off from releasing anything publicly.
However, after failed interest from Hull City and Blackburn Rovers, Leeds have finally been able to pay tribute to what they described as one of the club’s greatest ever captains.
Cooper, meanwhile, has sent a long and emotional message to everyone he has been involved with at Leeds over the last 10 years, with Ayling among those he reserved a special thanks for.
Ayling sends Cooper message after Leeds exit
Cooper and Ayling were teammates at Elland Road for the best part of seven-and-a-half-years until the latter’s move to Middlesbrough in January.
Both were absolutely crucial parts of the best period of Leeds’ modern-day history since relegation from the Premier League in 2004.
Between them, they formed half of the back four that finally won promotion from the Championship in 2020 under Marcelo Bielsa, as well as the one that finished ninth in the top-flight the following season.
After all that time, the two have clearly built a bond beyond that of football and so it is no surprise Ayling is one of the first people to send him a message via Instagram.
Ayling would often step into the role as captain at Leeds whenever Cooper was absent, but says the 33-year-old will ‘always’ be his skipper after what they achieved together.
“Will always be my skipper! A great man and the leader who took us back to the Premier League!!! Love you skip.”
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What Cooper said about Ayling in his statement
As mentioned, Ayling was one of a handful of players Cooper wanted to reserve a special thank you for in his parting message to the club.
Ayling was alongside Stuart Dallas, Mateusz Klich, Patrick Bamford, Adam Forshaw and Dan James in who he mentioned.
He said: “During my time I have played with so many players, far too many to mention by name, but I do need to give a special mention to a fair few, Bill, Klichy, Adam, Patrick and DJ, who I shared amazing moments with and now unbelievable friendships. The 2020 promotion team was probably the best team I have ever been involved with, a team built on pure hard work and humility. The weight of the shirt is very heavy, but we put side before self and came together to achieve something special with memories that will last forever.
“I also have to mention one man in particular who has been by my side through everything, Stu. The bond between us lives beyond football and it was an honour to share some of the best days of my career together with him. He showed me the way all too many times and I will never forget that.”
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