Luke Ayling’s departure from Leeds United was confirmed on Wednesday evening and Kalvin Phillips is among several teammates past and present to send him a message.
Ayling ended his seven-and-a-half-year association with the Whites as he joined Middlesbrough on loan for the rest of the season due to a lack of game time under Daniel Farke.
With the 32-year-old’s contract up at the end of the season, now is very much a goodbye for Ayling at Elland Road, which was reflected in his emotional message on Instagram.
Pablo Hernandez and Rodrigo Moreno are among those to have sent a response to Ayling’s post on Instagram, and now Manchester City and England man Kalvin Phillips has done so too.
The sheer volume of comments show just how popular Ayling is in the world of football. The amount of time he has spent at Leeds is also not something seen too often in this day and age.
Phillips sends Ayling message after Leeds exit
Phillips and Ayling were, of course, both key parts of Leeds’ promotion team under Marcelo Bielsa back in the 2019/20 season, as well as in the club’s first year back in the Premier League.
That side had an incredible bond with each other both on and off the pitch, but only a very small handful remain at Leeds now. Phillips, along with the likes of Archie Gray and Junior Firpo, have sent him good luck messages.
Comments such as the one from Firpo, Phillips and Gray show just what sort of a character Ayling was in the dressing room at Leeds, something which Farke has cited many times.
Firpo has struggled at Leeds since his move from Barcelona in 2021 but based on that comment, it is clear just how much Ayling has done his best to help him settle.
Although his role on the pitch diminished in recent months, there is no doubt what a big miss he will be off the pitch at Elland Road.
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