Ross McCrorie on emotional Aberdeen transfer exit as Bristol City recruit admits farewell left him with 'tear in my eye'

Ross McCrorie feels indebted to Aberdeen and Barry Robson and so when he left he made sure they weren’t going to be short-changed.

The Scotland squad player sealed his big-money move to Bristol City this summer in a deal that could net the Dons more than £2million – and could go substantially higher with future add-ons. It was always McCrorie’s plan to go to Aberdeen for two or three years and then make that next move, which he did last month when he sealed his move to the English Championship.

McCrorie revealed that he signed a new deal at Pittodrie last year because he wanted to make sure the club was protected on the transfer front. The 25-year-old said: “It was always the plan to go and play for Aberdeen for two or three years and then to kick on again. When I signed and initially spoke to Steven Gunn and Derek McInnes, that was always the plan. That was one of the reasons why I signed a new contract at Aberdeen last year.

"If I hadn’t then I would have been going into the final year of my contract this season. There was an agreement that if I signed the deal and an offer came in that was acceptable and I wanted to go, then the club wouldn’t stand in my way. Steven Gunn, the director of football, was brilliant throughout.

“Signing a new contract also gave Aberdeen some more protection in the length of my contract and when it came to negotiating a fee. When Bristol City came in, Steven and the chairman Dave Cormack were brilliant with the way they handled things.

“I even took a call from Dave the night before my medical, thanking me for everything and he said I will always be welcome back at Aberdeen. I really appreciated that, it showed a bit of class and just summed up everything about the club.”

The Scotland