Damien Duff has given an emotional goodbye to Fulham and the club’s supporters, but admitted now is the ‘right time for everyone’ for him to leave the club.

Duff’s contract at the London club expired this summer and the former Ireland international leaves the club following a five year spell and 173 appearances.

“I think it was the right time for everyone, for me and the Club, to part ways,” Duff tolf the official Fulham website “It’s sad, but that’s the way it is.

Duff, who previously played for Blackburn, Chelsea and Newcastle, said he views his time at Fulham – which coincided with major changes in his personal life – as his “most enjoyable time in football.”

“I’ve matured as a person and a player at Fulham. Since I’ve been here I’ve got married, I’ve had two kids, so it’s been a special time in my life and I stand by what I’ve said before that my most enjoyable time in football has been at Fulham.

“I’ve had many a great night at the Cottage, whether it be European nights or Premier League games. It’s a wonderful place to play – I don’t think there’s any ground around like it, so it’s a special place.”

For the club’s part the official farewell was laden with praise for the winger, saying “Anyone who has watched Duff play over the years will agree that you’d have to go a long way to find a more professional footballer.

“His dedication truly endured him to the Fulham faithful .”

Duff spent the final months of the season on the sidelines, with a knee injury preventing him from helping the club in its battle against relegation, a battle they eventually lost.

“All the bad emotions hit me in February when I kind of knew I wasn’t going to play again for Fulham, so I had my little cry then.

“It was my last day on Thursday so it was obviously sad saying goodbye to the people who I now call my friends for life. But I knew back in February that I’d played my last game for Fulham so that was a sad time as well.

“It’s been a big part of my life for five years – I’ve loved every minute of it at Fulham Football Club. It’s a great club but, as sad as it is to say, we deserved to go down. The table doesn’t lie, whether you win it or you go down, so I love the Club but we are where we are.”

Duff finished his goodbyes by thanking the Fulham fans, while showing some sensitivity to the fact that his past made him a hard man to love: “The fans have been amazing with me.

“It might have been a bit hard for them that I used to play for Chelsea, our big rivals, but from day one they’ve made me feel right at home.

“I’ve always had a great relationship with them and they’ve always given me fabulous support so I’d just like to tell them thanks for everything and sorry I couldn’t be there at the end of the season to help out the team, but that’s football, that’s life.”