“I was overwhelmed”- Balogun opens up on struggles after his contract expired at Rangers

Leon Balogun had a trophy-laden time at Ibrox, but Rangers refused to extend his stay

Super Eagles defender Leon Balogun has revealed he was overwhelmed with the struggles of getting a new club in the summer after his contract expired at Rangers.

Balogun joined Rangers in 2020 and his two-year stay was successful, as he won the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Cup. Balogun also helped the Gers to the finals of the Europa League which they lost to Eintracht Frankfurt last season.

The Super Eagles defender made 65 appearances for the former Scottish champions and registered two goals and three assists.

Unfortunately for Balogun, Rangers decided against extending his contract which expired at the end of last season.

The 34-year-old later joined English Championship side QPR in August on a one-year deal. And so far, it has been a good campaign for him.

However, Balogun has revealed that the weeks he spent without a club were tough.

 

 

“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.

 

 

Leon Balogun has settled in at QPR now. The Nigeria international has made 12 appearances in the Championship and has a goal to his name.

Balogun has been one of their best players this season, and he would look to keep playing well when the Championship resumes over the weekend.