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Jack Byrne has confirmed his departure from Shamrock Rovers as he prepares to join forces with Mick McCarthy in Cyprus.
His decision was expected and the Irish midfielder made the announcement in an extensive post on social media, stating that he did so with a ‘heavy heart’.
Byrne has already been to Cyprus to sign for APOEL and said news about his next club will be announced in the next few days.
The current SWAI and PFAI Player of the Year did not have a contract with the Irish League champions.
And while he was offered a “fantastic” new deal, the Hoops always resigned themselves to losing him amid the interest of their former Irish boss McCarthy.
Byrne, who also had options in England and the United States, said: “Today, with a heavy heart, I would like to announce that I have decided to leave Shamrock Rovers.
“I do it with a huge lump in my throat.”
The 24-year-old playmaker wrote: “When I left Scotland in December 2018 I was in a very low place. I was so unhappy and it’s the lowest I’ve ever felt in football.
“After a few days at home in Dublin, Stephen Bradley, Stephen McPhail and Glen Cronin asked me, my mother and my brother to join them at SRFC training ground.
“They told me if I lowered my head they would do everything possible to help me get back to myself and, most importantly, love the game again.
“They told my mother that they would take care of me and help me grow on and off the court.
“The reality is that over the past two years, Stephen Bradley and his staff have done much, much more than they promised.
“The truth is that they have changed my life. They made me fitter, stronger and a much better footballer.
“They believed in me and helped me feel that not only could I be good, but that I could compete with any player at any level.
“They made me relevant to the Irish international team and helped me fulfill my dream of putting on the green jersey. A dream that was dead before I met them.
“They are, without a doubt, incredible people, incredible player developers and I would urge any young player to listen to everything he has to say.
“I spent many years at one of the biggest clubs in the world and Shamrock Rovers has a management team that is as good as all the great people I worked with in Man City. I played for a team that became invincible in the Airtricity League not only because of the quality of the football we played but because of the quality of the characters in the dressing room.
“People I will always consider an extension of my family. They have made me a better teammate, player and person ”.
Byrne thanked his family, the Rovers leadership staff, the club’s backroom team, the players, the board of directors, and the Shamrock Rovers fans.
Although he refused to reveal his new club, it is no secret that Byrne has already been in Cyprus for a medical examination with APOEL.
“I will make an announcement about my future in the next few days,” he said.
Meanwhile, APOEL completed the signing of Joe Garner after McCarthy moved in for one of his former forwards from Ipswich Town.
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