- European clubs could target new free agent in his prime after buyout
- The star became a favorite at Rangers, where he won the Scottish Premiership.
- LISTEN NOW: It’s all starting!available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday.
A former Rangers favorite had his four-year contract with the European heavyweights terminated just 16 months after uprooting his life to move across the continent.
Ryan Kent has been sacked by Fenerbahce after months of being mostly frozen out after a deadline day move to Lazio collapsed last January.
The 27-year-old had only made one appearance this season for Jose Mourinho’s side and was excluded from all of his squads for league matches.
Kent joined Liverpool’s academy aged seven but only managed one senior appearance and, after five loan spells at five clubs, finally moved to Rangers permanently in 2019 for £6.5m.
The forward was a popular figure at Rangers, where he spent five seasons (including a loan spell) and won the Scottish Premiership title under Steven Gerrard in 2020-21.
Fenerbahçe terminated their contract with former Rangers star Ryan Kent after 16 months
Kent reportedly refused to leave the club last winter and played once this season.
The attacking star came through Liverpool’s academy and made a senior appearance.
He had been a hit with fans during his 2018-19 loan spell and won the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year award at the end of the season.
He was a key part of the team that won the Scottish Cup and reached the Europa League final in 2021-22.
In total he racked up 218 appearances for the Glasgow giants and scored 33 goals.
During his stay at Ibrox he was even talked about as an outside shout for the England team, but he only reached the Under-20 level.
His Instagram does not show any record of his time in Turkey, where he shared a dressing room with Edin Dzeko, Allan Saint-Maximin, Fred, Dusan Tadic, Sofyan Amrabat, Caglar Soyuncu and Cenk Tosun.
Fenerbahce issued a cold statement to announce that he had been fired.
‘The contract with Ryan Kent, one of the players of the professional A football team, has been terminated by mutual agreement. We present it to the public,” the club wrote.
The Oldham-born star was linked with a number of clubs this summer and rejected an offer from an unnamed Scottish club, according to the sun.
Jose Mourinho was reportedly unimpressed that Kent had refused to leave before his arrival.
In January he also had interest from Leeds and Hull, as well as an offer from Lazio, but he reportedly refused to leave Fenerbahce, incurring the ire of former boss Ismail Kartal, and Mourinho didn’t like him either.
On leaving Rangers in the summer of 2023, he said: “My time at Ibrox is something I will remember for the rest of my life.
I immediately fell in love with the club and the fans and have created some memories that I will look back on with great happiness.
“When I was a kid, it was a dream to play in European competitions and win leagues and cups, but doing it in front of an Ibrox crowd is something completely different, it’s a privilege.
“I will always carry the Rangers in my heart.”
