‘I really got infected by the Blue Fever’ - Leon Balogun opens up on Rangers exit heartbreak and prolonging Glasgow stay

Leon Balogun has confessed he was left ‘heartbroken’ by his Rangers exit in the summer after finding his footballing home in Glasgow, but insists there is no bad blood between him and the club.

The Nigeria centre-back, who now plays for English Championship side Queens Park Rangers, became an instant fans’ favourite during his two-year spell under Steven Gerrard and was desperate to sign a new deal with the Light Blues in the summer.

However, the 34-year-old was left in a state of shock when Giovanni van Bronckhorst showed him the door, despite attempts by Gers sporting director Ross Wilson to persuade the Dutchman to change his thought-process.

Balogun insists his ‘Blue Fever’ will never leave him as he opened up on the reasons behind his departure and why he decided to prolong his stay in the city.

Speaking on the Beautiful Game podcast, he stated: “For me, it was a sad departure from Rangers. I loved the club and I really got infected by the Blue Fever, and that will be for life. It’s not that I regret being at QPR now, but it was a heartbreak for me to leave Rangers.

“It was because I did not leave the club, I was released. That’s the fair way to put it, and I did not really expect it. We were talking about a new contract, but I didn’t ever receive an offer and it was just conversations really. I asked my agent what was going on because my contract was coming to an end. I told him it was clear I wanted to stay as I had found my football home there.

“We were busy with games at the time, and then there was a meeting for them to decide. They were talking about the legalities about the contract and what they thought to could look like. It was pretty much about agreeing a base, a foundation of how we were going to carry on from there, but it felt like a drag.

“We sent them an offer a few days before my contract ended. We didn’t hear anything back from Rangers and then, on May 31, I got a call from my agent to say they weren’t going to do it. From what I’ve been told, the manager was not too sure about it and the sporting director, Ross Wilson, tried to convince him. Then they had him on board but then it was a constant back and forth, back and forth.

“At one point I thought it was going to go quite quicky because they told me, ‘We want to keep you and we will find a solution’... blah blah blah. But then on the final day they said, ‘No, we can’t come to a conclusion and we think it’s better, if we can’t come to a 100 per cent decision, that we let things end the way they are’.

“It was a tough one to take, really. I stayed in Glasgow until the end of August, and me and my missus were still hoping things could change - especially when Rangers were struggling in my position. I met Ross Wilson once because he allowed me to keep myself fit and use the club’s facilities, but I only did it twice as it didn’t feel right being around the boys. So that was that chapter and it was really tough. The whole thing was close to my heart.”

Balogun claimed he had hoped recently sacked Van Bronckhorst would have a change of heart amid the club’s defensive injury crisis, which led him to attend a number of games and watch on from the stands at Ibrox, but reckons his exit won’t tarnish his memories at Rangers.

He added: “I was feeling stressed and it could not have been easy for my girlfriend at home living with me. I was pretty overwhelmed with the whole situation. People were telling me to take time off and travel but I couldn’t. I was running through Glasgow and working on my own.

“I met some friends, Sean and Vinnie, and I would play with them in the Powerleague Glasgow. Bill from the University of Glasgow allowed me to use their football pitched and that helped me massively when I joined QPR.

“Rangers was the best time of my career so far, and I’m not going to talk badly of anyone. It’s heartbreaking to see the players are struggling at the moment, but there is no bad blood for me because my time at that club has been too special. I wouldn’t want to diminish that because I feel I have been hard done by, or not dealt with in the way I should have been.”