Defender sends message following Nottingham Forest Deadline Day development

Rodrigo Ely confirmed his departure from Nottingham Forest last night as he searches for first-team football elsewhere.

Hi! I want to tell you that I'm no longer a @NFFC player. Those who know me know that football is my life, and playing my greatest hope and motivation. Training with my teammates is not enough. I have youth, health and ambition, so I'm going all out for it ♥️⚽All the best, Reds! pic.twitter.com/czowmREdl6

— Rodrigo Ely (@RodriElyOficial) January 31, 2022

The 28-year-old centre-back joined the Reds as a free agent back in September on a deal until the end of the season, in what was a surprising transfer at the time.

And, it’s fair to say that it’s a deal that didn’t work out for anyone, as injuries prevented the former AC Milan making the impact he would’ve wanted, whilst Steve Cooper was named as Chris Hughton’s replacement just weeks after Ely joined.

With the defender not in the plans of the new boss, he confirmed on Twitter that an agreement had been reached with Forest to allow him to leave the club immediately.

“I want to tell you that I’m no longer a Nottingham Forest player. Those who know me know that football is my life, and playing my greatest hope and motivation. Training with my teammates is not enough. I have youth, health and ambition, so I’m going all out for it. All the best, Reds!”

The verdict

This is a decision that makes sense because Ely was nowhere near the team at Forest, whilst he will have been frustrated that he couldn’t stay fit after joining.

That situation wasn’t going to change with Cooper having brought in a few defenders this month, so Ely knew he had to leave to get game time.

It’s one of those deals that just didn’t work out but this classy message will go down