The recent announcement of Mike Brown’s departure from Harlequins at the end of this season has shocked much of the rugby world.
The 35-year-old will join Newcastle Falcons for the 2021/22 season having made his debut for Quins back in 2005 and represented the club almost 350 times.
The former England international expressed his disappointment at not being offered a new contract for the south London club in a recent interview with the Daily Mail, stating that he had no desire to leave.
“I wanted to stay at Quins,” said Brown. “I was completely open with the club. I always wanted to stay and I wanted to finish my career at Quins. I love this club. I will always love this club, irrespective of how things have ended.
“At this stage of my career and life, it makes no sense to move but I was left with no other option. I chased the club for weeks about a new contract and, when they finally brought me in for a meeting, it lasted four minutes.
“Paul Gustard told me I had no future here and I was staring down the barrel of unemployment. I’m 35, with a family to support and I’ve been with Harlequins since I was 18. There was no ‘thanks for your effort, we’ll help you with your future’.
“It was one of the worst feelings of my life. I couldn’t get my head around it. It wasn’t like my legs have gone and I can’t get in the team any more. Earlier that week, Gussy had done an interview on the RugbyPass website saying he wanted to reduce the age of the team. A few days later, I was gone. I never thought it would end that way.
“When you’re pushed to the side and dismissed, you feel like you’re worthless. I went straight to my car, past Scott Baldwin, who could tell I was distraught. I just sat in the car and cried.”
Brown will go down as a true legend of Harlequins and the full back earned 72 caps for England over an 11-year period. The social media reaction to his harsh treatment is below.
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