'My skipper' - Luke Ayling, Pablo Hernandez and Mateusz Klich lead Leeds United tributes to Liam Cooper — YEP 11/9/24
By Kyle Newbould
Another of Marcelo Bielsa’s promotion-winning Leeds United
squad has now left.
A number of much-loved current and former Leeds United
players have sent emotional messages to Liam Cooper, following confirmation of
his Elland Road exit after 10 years
Cooper confirmed the news with a heartfelt message on
Wednesday afternoon, paying special mention to Marcelo Bielsa, long-time friend
Stuart Dallas and the ‘lunatic’ supporters. The 33-year-old is expected to join
Bulgarian outfit CSKA Sofia, having officially left Leeds when his contract
expired at the start of summer.
The centre-back will be fondly remembered by everyone
involved at Leeds, having arrived from Chesterfield in 2014 before working his
way up to club captain, a role from which he led the club to Championship
promotion under Marcelo Bielsa before spending three years in the Premier
League. And a number of players from across that decade-long spell have sent
their best wishes on social media.
Former Whites defender Luke Ayling, who Cooper name-checked
in his emotional goodbye, shared his friend’s message on his Instagram story,
writing: “Will always be my Skipper! A great man and the leader who took us
back to the Premier League!!! Love you skip”.
Hernandez joined Leeds two years after Cooper and spent five
years alongside the defender, winning promotion under Bielsa and contributing
to that ninth-placed finish in the first campaign back. The Spanish midfielder
was also quick to pay tribute to his former teammate, writing: “Legend!! My
Captain!”
The comments section of Cooper’s Instagram posts were
flooded with hundreds of messages from fans. But there were a number of former
teammates, managers and previous opponents quick to send their best wishes.
Another promotion-winning hero and part of Bielsa’s squad
was Mateusz Klich, who simply wrote: “It’s been a pleasure”. Arsenal’s Ben
White will have plenty to thank Cooper for, having played alongside the
experienced defender on loan during the promotion season, and he wrote: “What a
guy.”
Current second-choice goalkeeper Karl Darlow wrote: “What a
man! Good luck brother”, while left-back Junior Firpo wrote: “Go well skip!
It’s been a pleasure to learn from you. Proper legend”. £25million summer exit
Crysencio Summerville was also in the comments, writing: “Thank you for
everything skip”.
The length of Cooper’s spell at Leeds means he crossed paths
with some players further down the line than those Bielsa years, and despite
only spending a few months with the defender before joining Fulham, Matt Smith
was keen to say goodbye. He wrote: “The word legend gets bandied about way too
much these days. You however…. Are one! And a gent to match. Pleasure to share
some memories mate”.