Bon Voyage Beard Man

Rovers have today bid farewell to French defender Gael Givet, who has left the club to sign for French Second Division side Arles-Avignon, his hometown club.

Givet has been MIA in the main for the last year at the club, with him out of favour and with reports of him being homesick fairly frequent throughout his stay in Lancashire.

But in the early days under Sam Allardyce and to a lesser extent Steve Kean, Givet was a crowd favourite, a tireless worker and a rock at the back alongside the likes of Chris Samba and Ryan Nelsen.

‘I want to say thank you to the club and to the fans,’ said Givet to the official Rovers site.

‘Before Blackburn, I enjoyed my football in Monaco – I played in the Champions League final – but my first three years in the Premier League with Blackburn were the best moments of my career.

‘It was an amazing experience for me and one I will never forget. Blackburn Rovers will always have a big place in my heart and I am sad to be leaving, but last season was hard for me and I think it is better for me and my family to go back to France.

‘But once again, I say thank you to the club for giving me a chance to play in England and thank you to the fans for your support – I will never forget it.’

Givet was more popularly known as the Bearded Warrior during his time at the club, but with him on high wages and Rovers needing to trim the financial fat off the wage bill, a move away was considered the best for all concerned. In truth, the writing has been on the wall for a long time now.

Rovers manager Gary Bowyer paid tribute to the Frenchman, who leaves only a short while after the club bid farewell to another favourite – Morten Gamst Pedersen.

Rovers boss Gary Bowyer continued – ‘Gael was very popular amongst the supporters, because he always gave 100%, which is something we`re trying to get back to now.

‘We have all enjoyed his warrior-like performances over the past four-and-a-half years and the 1-0 victory at home to Huddersfield last season, which was the one full game he played for me, I thought he was outstanding.

‘We`re sad to see him leave, but he was eager to return to France and he wants to play more football at this stage in his career, which we fully understand, so I think this is the best solution for both parties.’

Best of luck in the future Gael, thanks for your service.