Former Rangers star’s contract is terminated just 16 months into four-year deal – in move which could alert top European clubs
- European clubs could target a new free agent in his prime after the termination
- The star became a favorite at Rangers, where he won the Scottish Premiership
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A former Rangers favorite has seen his four-year contract with 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 largely frozen out after a move to Lazio collapsed last January.
The 27-year-old has made just one appearance for Jose Mourinho’s side this season and has been left out of all their league squads.
Kent joined Liverpool’s academy at the age of seven but only made one senior appearance and, after five loan spells at five clubs, eventually moved permanently to Rangers in 2019 for £6.5 million.
The forward was a popular figure at Rangers, where he spent five seasons (including a loan spell) and won the Scottish Premier League title under Steven Gerrard in 2020-21.
Ex-Rangers star Ryan Kent has seen his contract terminated by Fenerbahce after 16 months
Kent reportedly refused to leave the club last winter and has made one appearance this season
The attacking star came through Liverpool’s youth ranks and made one senior appearance
He was a hit with the supporters during his 2018/19 loan spell and won Scotland’s 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 2021-2022.
In total he played 218 games for the Glasgow giants and scored 33 goals.
During his time at Ibrox there was even talk of him being an outsider for the England squad, but he only reached the top tier of the Under-20s.
His Instagram shows no records 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 he had been fired.
‘The contract with Ryan Kent, one of the players of the Professional Football A team, has been terminated by mutual agreement. We present it to the public,” the club wrote.
The Oldham-born star has been linked with several clubs this summer and reportedly turned down an offer from an unnamed Scottish club. The sun.
Jose Mourinho was reportedly unimpressed that Kent had refused to leave before arriving
In January he also attracted interest from Leeds and Hull, as well as a bid from Lazio, but reportedly refused to leave Fenerbahce, angering former boss Ismail Kartal – and Mourinho wasn’t keen on 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 made some memories that I will look back on fondly.
“As a kid it’s a dream to play in European competitions and win leagues and cups, but to do that in front of the Ibrox crowd is something completely different, it’s a privilege.
‘I will carry Rangers in my heart forever.’