On Friday, three of Everton's longest serving players were released by the club.
Leon Osman, Tony Hibbert and Steven Pienaar were not offered new contracts at Goodison Park.
Osman, Hibbert and Pienaar on Premier League free transfer list. More: https://t.co/Dhhk2vWnWH
— Everton (@Everton) June 10, 2016
Hibbert made his debut for the club in 2001, he would go on - despite limitations in terms of ability - to make more than 300 appearances.
Leon Osman, an England international, made his first senior appearance for Everton 2004. He would make over 430 appearances.
South African international Steven Pienaar forged a formidable partnership on Everton left-hand side for many years with Leighton Baines. His time at the club would be interrupted by a spell at Spurs before a return in 2012. He would make over 250 appearances for Everton.
Despite their service, the three were treated fairly shoddily by the club regarding their release. According to the Liverpool Echo, the trio only discovered that they would be departing the club when they received text messages from friends on Friday. The friends had seen a post on the Everton website stating the trio had been added to the Premier League free transfer list.
While it's often hard to feel sympathy for professional footballers, it does seem especially harsh that players such as Hibbert and Osman - who came through the ranks at Everton - would not be notified more respectfully.
In particular, for Hibbert and Pienaar, not being offered a new contract will likely not have come as a major surprise. Aged 35 and 34, they made one and six appearances respectively this season while Osman played in 16 games.
