Everton legend Tony Hibbert has admitted to being left "really hurt" by the manner in which he found out he would not be retained at Goodison Park this season.
The popular midfielder was released by the Toffees in June following 25 years' service, along with another long-serving player in Leon Osman.
Hibbert, who made a total of 328 appearances for the Toffees, only found out that his contract would not be renewed when contacted by friends and family, with no Everton official getting in touch to break the news.
"I was in Formby with my dad and brother when my wife Samantha rang to say she'd been getting text messages from friends that I wasn't being retained," he is quoted as saying by The Sun. "It was on the website. I couldn't believe it so I rang a friend at the club to check. They said, 'Tony, I honestly don't know why nobody has spoken to you'.
"I contacted Leon and he was in exactly the same boat. I won't tell a lie, I was really hurt. Surely someone at the club should've realised it wasn't right. I'd rather have been told at any point during the season there wouldn't be a contract so I'd have a chance to plan my future and say a proper farewell.
"No player deserves that whether they've been at a club for five minutes or 25 years. In what other job would someone be let go or fired without a senior manager talking and explaining what was happening? I never got that and I honestly don't know why. I didn't get the chance to properly say goodbye to the fans."
Hibbert has since been allowed to use the club's training facilities, but he has to change in the academy locker room and can only do so in the afternoon.
