Angel Rangel will leave Swansea City at the end of the season as the revamp of the squad begins.
Just 24 hours after the Swans were all but condemned to relegation, it was revealed the club captain’s contract will not be renewed.
Rangel is the first but will not be the last man making the Liberty Stadium exit in the coming weeks and months.
Manager Carlos Carvalhal is also reportedly set to leave the club following Sunday’s final Premier League game against Stoke City.
Spanish right-back Rangel, 35, leaves after 11 years but hopes to return to the club once his playing days are over.
If he plays against the Potters it would be his 374th appearance for a club
he joined for a bargain £10,000 in 2007 from Terrassa.
Rangel said: “I came here as a 24-year-old when the club were in League One. 11 years later I have played more in the Premier League than in all the other divisions.
“That gives me a lot of pride and happiness, but also there is sadness because you don’t think this day will ever come.
“The years go by so fast and you don’t realise it is a very short career.
“The older you get, the more difficult it is to accept.
“But you have to be realistic and I have to be proud of what I have achieved at this club.”
Rangel has made just six appearances this season so accepted being awarded a new contract was unlikely.
“It is difficult for the club to give me another extension, I understand that,” added Rangel.
“But I keep myself fit, I still feel good and I want to play for as long as my body can take it.
“I will look somewhere else for one or two more seasons. When I am 37 or 38 it will be time to call it a day and hopefully I will come back and help the Swans in another way.”
