Glen Whelan disappointed following Aston Villa release

Aston Villa have confirmed the release of eight first-team players following their success in winning Premier League promotion at the end of the 2018/19 season.

The names on the list are Mile Jedinak, Alan Hutton, Tommy Elphick, Albert Adomah, Ritchie De Laet, Mark Bunn, Micah Richards, and Glenn Whelan.

Whelan has expressed deep disappointment, not with the release itself which he says he had expected, but rather with the way he found out about it, according to Sky Sports. The 35-year-old didn’t learn his fate from manager Dean Smith (though he did say he had a missed call from him), or anyone else from the club, but from a journalist.

Asked if he was going to continue playing, he replied that he wants to play for as long as he is able, and jokingly added that he had just had “Real Madrid on the phone”.

Whelan also revealed that he was happy with the fact that he has achieved what he set out to do – help Villa earn promotion back into the English top flight.