Rangers have confirmed the exits of five first-team players whose contracts expired at the end of May.
The Ibrox giants have kicked off yet another squad rebuild following the conclusion of the 2023/24 season.
Rangers, under Philippe Clement, were in the hunt for a domestic Treble but ultimately fell short of achieving the ambitious feat.
Celtic went on to secure the Scottish Premiership title as well as the Scottish Cup, both at the expense of Rangers, with Gers only managing to pick up the Viaplay Cup in December.
The Belgian, alongside director of football Nils Koppen, will now lead a major surgical procedure in rebuilding the squad in the hope they can both help deliver league success next season.
And that process has now kicked off with the release of five senior players from the first-team squad following the end of their contracts at Ibrox.
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John Lundstram and Borna Barisic lead Rangers exodus
On Saturday morning, Rangers issued a statement confirming midfielders Ryan Jack and John Lundstram, defender Borna Barisic, striker Kemar Roofe and goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin have all been released.
The statement read: “Rangers Football Club can today confirm the departures of Borna Barisic, Ryan Jack, John Lundstram, Jon McLaughlin and Kemar Roofe following the expiry of their contracts.
“With a combined 23 seasons at the club, all five players have represented Rangers with commitment and dedication over a number of years.
“They were all part of the squad that guided Rangers to the UEFA Europa League final in Seville, with Borna Barisic, Ryan Jack and Kemar Roofe lifting the league title with the club in 2020/21.
“All five leave as Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup winners with Rangers in recent years.
“Everyone at Ibrox and Rangers’ Training Centre thank the departing players for their time at the club and wish them all the very best for their future careers.”
End of an era at Rangers
The departures of Lundstram, Barisic, Jack, Roofe and McLaughlin all signal the end of an era for the Govan giants.
Lundstram was signed under Steven Gerrard and in his first season became a hero amongst the Ibrox faithful after playing a massive part in the club’s journey to the 2022 Europa League Final.
He was a big performer during Philippe Clement’s early days as Rangers boss but his form dipped towards the end of the season, culminating in a red card being shown to Lundstram in the Scottish Cup Final defeat to Celtic.
Borna Barisic made 236 appearances across six years at Rangers, winning three major honours. He was a mainstay in the starting XI until Ridvan Yilmaz usurped the Croatian as first-choice left-back last season.
Ryan Jack’s time at Rangers came to a disappointing end, unsurprisingly due to injury which has proved to be a problem over the last couple of years for the former Aberdeen star.
Kemar Roofe joined Gers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and proved to be a deadly finisher on his day.
But like Jack, the Englishman could hardly keep himself out of the Ibrox treatment room as injuries plagued the latter part of his four years with Rangers.
Lastly, McLaughlin is probably the least surprising exit of the five released by Rangers. The goalkeeper is now 36 and failed to make single appearance under Clement last campaign.
