Alex Bruce was one of a number of players released by Hull on Wednesday following the club's relegation from the Premier League.
In a statement on the club's website, Hull said:
Alex Bruce heads a list of players who will leave the Tigers once their contracts expire at the end of June.
The Club has confirmed its ‘retained’ and ‘released’ lists, with Bruce set to depart after almost five years at the KCOM Stadium. The defender made 104 appearances in that time, helping the team to win promotion from the Championship in 2012/13 and 2015/16.
That his departure from the club was going to be announced today certainly came as a surprise to Bruce, who only found out via the club's Twitter account.
Thanks for letting me know!! All the best 👍🏼 https://t.co/1NhM6aUvls
— Alex Bruce (@AlexBruce84) May 24, 2017
You got to laugh.
It was the second tweet mentioning Bruce's departure. Shortly after announcing their retained and released lists, Hull also thanked Bruce for his service.
This was all without Bruce realising that the club had announced that he would be leaving the club.
🔶◾️ | Thanks for the memories, @AlexBruce84! pic.twitter.com/eLQusTQczZ
— Hull City (@HullCity) May 24, 2017
Curiously, it seems Bruce did have prior knowledge that he would be leaving Hull. Over the weekend the defender, who spent the latter part of this season on loan at Wigan, tweeted that he would be leaving Hull when his contract expires.
It was perhaps the timing of the announcement rather than his departure from the club which caught the former Ireland and Northern Ireland international off guard.
No I won't be mate my time at Hull is up when my contract finishes in a few weeks https://t.co/ptZXxjYTYS
— Alex Bruce (@AlexBruce84) May 20, 2017
Bruce found some empathy from former QPR player Marc Bircham.
@AlexBruce84 Like when me and @danshittu found out we were put on transfer list watching @SkySportsNewsHQ in QPR canteen cause the club needed the money?
— Marc Bircham (@marcbircham) May 24, 2017
Picture credit: David Maher / SPORTSFILE
