Australia national team forward Tim Cahill was released by Chinese Super League squad Shanghai Greenland Shenhua FC on Wednesday after new head coach Gregorio Manzano told the player that he was a "surplus to requirements".
The 36-year-old attacking midfielder, one of the best and most popular Australian footballers of all time, agreed to the contract termination despite just signing an extension in November of last year, citing that he was told that he is "not part" of the new manager's plans moving forward.
"I'm very sorry to announce that I have reached an agreement with Shanghai Shenhua to terminate my contract after being told that I'm not part of the new coach Manzano's plans for the 2016 season having only just signed a new contract in November," Cahill posted in one of his social media accounts, via ESPN.
"This is very sad especially after what I feel I have helped to build in Shanghai Shenhua on and off the park. Just thinking about saying goodbye to my teammates and especially the amazing fans is heartbreaking," he added.
Cahill had recently criticized the CSL for the ongoing European raid that it is executing, saying that luring international players to play in China for cash is unsustainable in the long run and could have negative effects on the Far East country's national team.
It is not immediately known, though, if those comments affected the club's decision to release him.
Meanwhile, Football Australia reported that Shanghai Shenhua fans were "angry" about what had transpired, expressing that "he's one of us!" pertaining to the Sydney, Australia native.
The report said that in the midst of the recent big-name signings and spending happening in the CSL, Cahill's termination came in as a shock for many fans.
One of the members of the Blue Devils, a well-known Shanghai Shenhua fans organization, Dong Mei said that "even though he is Australian, Cahill was one of us".
"In every game he gave everything. It was like having a fan on the pitch fighting for us. Fans can't believe that the club would release him," Dong said. "We have had so many foreign players that have come and gone without making an impact so to lose Cahill is an unpopular decision."