Leeds United have announced Patrick Bamford will leave the club this summer as a free agent.
Bamford, 31, had one year remaining on his deal but Leeds confirmed on Thursday a “mutual agreement” had been reached for his departure.
After his side’s pre-season draw with Manchester United on July 20, Leeds manager Daniel Farke said that Bamford would not be part of his plans for the coming season and that he had discussed the matter with the striker.
“The club became a massive part of my world, and I tried to make you proud by doing the most I could on the pitch and also in the community,” Bamford said in a video released on social media.
“Right now with the way it has come to an end and the way things have been handled recently, it’s all a little bit too raw to reflect on immediately. But I think in the years to come I’ll look back at this period of my life with nothing but joy, pride, and be super happy with what I’ve achieved and the fact that I was able to wear this number 9 shirt in front of you guys for this many years.”
Bamford moved to Elland Road from Middlesbrough in 2018 and was part of the Leeds squads that won promotion to the Premier League in 2019-20 and 2024-25.
He made 205 appearances during his seven years at the club, scoring 60 goals.
(Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Bamford scored 16 times in the Championship under Marcelo Bielsa during the 2019-20 season as Leeds returned to the top flight following a 16-year absence. He then scored 17 times in the Premier League the following campaign as Leeds finished ninth.
However, Bamford’s career has been disrupted by injury in recent seasons and he was limited to just one start in all competitions last season and he failed to score in 18 appearances.
“With Patrick, I had a really open and honest conversation,” Farke said in July. “I would have preferred a completely fit Patrick Bamford in the last two seasons.
“He knows how much I rate him as a person. It was the second day of pre-season when I told him in my office he wasn’t part of my plans for the upcoming Premier League season, due to the fact he’s had really difficult years over the past years.
“Patrick has done so much for this club over the last seven years, winning two promotions. He trained with us over the first two weeks, but I told him, once we go to the training camp, I will reduce the striker group, so that’s why I made this cut right now.”
Joel Piroe has led the line for Leeds in their opening two Premier League games of this season, while summer signing Lukas Nmecha started Tuesday’s Carabao Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
‘History should remember Bamford for his role under Bielsa’ – analysis
This is not the way Bamford would have wanted to end his storied tenure at Leeds. Seven years after he arrived for around £7million from Middlesbrough, he has agreed to terminate his contract 10 months early and departs as a free agent.
The 31-year-old departs after 60 goals in 205 senior appearances, which took in two Championship titles and an England cap in that time. At his best, Bamford was scoring 17 goals in a Premier League campaign which remains the club’s highest league finish since 2002.
That season, which included a stellar hat-trick at Aston Villa, culminated in Gareth Southgate calling him up for England duty, the ultimate highlight of his career. Sadly, his body began to break down after that point and he was never able to string enough appearances together to add to his one cap.
Bamford was one of Marcelo Bielsa’s favourites and led the line en route to the 2020 Championship crown. He never quite played as central a role under Daniel Farke, but will treasure his winner’s medal all the same.
It felt like this summer, with promotion and heightened demands on the team, may have been the natural endpoint for Bamford at Leeds. With no transfer in the offing, this mutual termination gives Bamford the time and space to earn his next contract outside the window.
He has not been short of criticism over the past four seasons, but history should remember him for his role under Bielsa and that magical run to ninth in the top flight.
(Top photo: Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)