Clubs rejected me because of my age — Balogun on struggles after his contract expired at Rangers

Super Eagles defender Leon Balogun has lifted the lid on his struggles of getting a new club after his contract with Glasgow Rangers expired last summer.

The 34-year-old had two successful seasons with the Scottish giants winning the Scottish League in his first season and the Scottish Cup last season.

The Super Eagles defender also helped the Gers to the grand finale of the Europa League where they lost on shootouts to German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.

Balogun managed 2 goals and 3 assists in 65 appearances for Rangers before exiting the club last summer.

In a recent interview with the Beautiful Game, the ex-Werder Bremen defender detailed his struggles in getting a new club after leaving Rangers.

“The last time I was out of contract was in 2014”, Balogun told The Beautiful game.

“I put my foot in my debut for Nigeria, missed out on the World Cup, so the club I was talking to back then didn’t sign me.

“I was not in a good place, but I was very positive because I hadn’t really done much in my career at that point.

“However, this summer hit me harder. I struggled because I had already built my career, and I was doing well financially and settled. And then, all of a sudden, there I was without a club.

“I was overwhelmed with the whole situation, everybody told me to take some time off, but I couldn’t because I needed to be ready for the day(new contract).

“I kept training and played some football with some of my guys to stay fit.

“I was in Ibiza for a week, Napoli, and then Positan for a week with my girlfriend. But when I returned to Glasgow I was always thinking.

“I was talking to clubs, and they were turning me down mainly because of my age, which was frustrating.

“I felt so down because I just played more games in the past two seasons than I have ever played before on the spin.

“They were always harping on my fitness and age and I’m like ‘what do you mean?’ That was just tough. I was delighted when QPR finally happened.

The German-born Nigerian international has settled in well at his new club QPR in the English Championship.

The Super Eagle has been in an impressive form for his new club making 12 appearances for the Championship side.

WDN