Rangers captain James Tavernier to leave at end of season after 11 years at club

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tavernier-james/jqdidllM/"]Tavernier[/a] has captained [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/qpr/lrMHUHDc/"]Rangers[/a] for the past eight years, winning the Scottish Premiership in 2021, the Scottish Cup the following year and the League Cup in 2023.[/p][p]He also skippered Rangers in the 2022 Europa League final against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/eintracht-frankfurt/8vndvXTk/"]Eintracht Frankfurt[/a], suffering the disappointment of defeat in a penalty shootout.[/p][p]Rangers trail leaders [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/hearts/0rGrwwNc/"]Hearts[/a] by a point this season and will hope to overhaul the Edinburgh club to give Tavernier another Premiership winner's medal before he leaves.[/p][p]The 34-year-old, whose contract expires at the end of the season, said on Instagram that leaving "hasn't been an easy decision".[/p][p][b]"This club has been a huge part of my life and my family's over the past 11 years,"[/b] he said.[/p][p]"It's given me so much, both on and off the pitch and from the moment I arrived, I've always tried to give everything I had to represent it in the right way.[/p][p][b]"To have had the honour of being made captain of this club since 2018 is something I will always be incredibly proud of. Leading this team out, wearing the armband and being trusted in that role has meant more to me that I can properly put into words."[/b][/p][embed guid="7d74f5d0-b79f-4f4e-8cba-ae28a1dff56b" url="https://x.com/RangersFC/status/2046908740696224181" social-type="twitter" /][p]The English right-back is the highest-scoring defender in British football, having amassed 144 goals in 562 Rangers appearances and 152 goals overall.[/p][p]He arrived from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/newcastle-utd/p6ahwuwJ/"]Newcastle[/a] in 2015 when Rangers were in the Scottish Championship, having originally been demoted to the fourth tier after the club went into administration.[/p][p]Tavernier helped Rangers win that division and when Steven Gerrard became Rangers manager in 2018, he made him captain full-time.[/p]