Charlie Mulgrew says Rovers will always have a special place in his heart after announcing his Ewood departure.

Mulgrew captained the club to promotion from League One in 2018, his goal securing celebratory scenes at Doncaster as they booked an immediate return to the Championship.

He departs after making 109 appearances, scoring 27 goals, and being captain of the club for two years.

The 35-year-old has spent much of the last two seasons on loan at Wigan Athletic and Fleetwood Town, and confirmed his expected departure with a heartfelt message on social media.

He wrote: “Thank you Rovers for all you have done for me. Massive thank you to the fans, the staff and my team-mates over the last 5 years. We’ve had our ups and downs but overall it’s been a great 5 years. The club will always have a place in my heart.”

The Scotland international signed for Rovers in the summer of 2016 after leaving Celtic and enjoyed three excellent seasons at the club, his leadership quality and set piece prowess a real standout.

He stayed with the club despite relegation from the Championship, skippering them to promotion from League One, a campaign in which he scored 14 times, backing that up with 10 in 2018/19, as well as being a regular for his country.

However, the arrival of Tosin Adarabioyo in 2019 saw him drop down the pecking order, and despite starting the opening day defeat to Charlton Athletic, he was allowed to leave on loan to Wigan Athletic and he departs as the contract he signed in November 2018 comes to an end, having spent this season at Fleetwood Town.

That means Mulgrew departs having played just once for the club since leaving on loan on transfer deadline day in August 2019, with the defender making the 100th league appearance of his Rovers career at Barnsley in July 2020.

Mulgrew was loaned out again at the start of this season to League One side Fleetwood Town, and despite playing 23 times up to the end of February, he hasn’t featured since because of injury.

Rovers have already confirmed the departures of Lewis Holtby, Corry Evans and Stewart Downing, while Amari’i Bell’s future is also set to be away from Ewood with his three-and-a-half year stay at the club coming to an end.