"Dishonest" - Player questions Blackburn Rovers after his Ewood Park exit | OneFootball

The Icelandic winger has subsequently joined Malmo after his Blackburn Rovers contract was ripped up

Arnor Sigurdsson claimed he was put in an “impossible position” by Blackburn Rovers prior to his mutual departure from the Championship club.

Icelandic international Sigurdsson has recently joined Swedish outfit Malmo after his contract at Ewood Park was ripped up.

The winger had struggled with injury during his time with Rovers, having last played in October, and had entered the final months of his deal with his contract originally set to expire in the summer.

"Professional" Arnor Sigurdsson labels Blackburn Rovers "dishonest"

After a productive loan spell from CSKA Moskow at the start of the 2023/24 season, Sigurdsson was signed on a permanent basis ahead of the 2024 January transfer window.

In March last season, Sigurdsson suffered his first injury lay-off, before thigh and calf issues effectively curtailed his Blackburn career at the start of the 2024/25 season.

Sigurdsson was not impressed to be informed after the transfer deadline had passed that he would not be included in Blackburn’s 25-man squad for the remainder of the 2024/25 Championship season.

Then-Blackburn manager, John Eustace, had shared how it was a difficult decision to de-register Sigurdsson, but also added that the winger would be able to train with the first-team whilst he explored options elsewhere.

Shortly after Sigurdsson gave an interview to visir.is in his native Iceland, Blackburn made the decision to offer the 25-year-old an early termination of his contract.

Faced with the prospect of not playing until the start of next season, Sigurdsson agreed. However, the list of potential clubs he could join was extremely limited.

That is because registration rules prevent clubs from signing free agents if their contracts were ripped up after the end of their transfer window.

However, as the Swedish transfer window is still open, Malmo were able to offer Sigurdsson a lifeline.

Speaking prior to his departure from Blackburn and translate from his native Icelandic, Sigurdsson shared: "First of all, I just think it's dishonest with the club, the way they do this.

"I've always been a professional in this, always given my all for the club.

“But then they decide to do it like this - wait for the transfer window to close and then tell me this.

"They put me in an impossible position.

"My contract was expiring after the season and I've been injured. It's maybe easy to throw someone away when you're not going to renegotiate.”

"But then you get this in your face" - Arnor Sigurdsson left feeling let down by Blackburn Rovers

Sigurdsson claimed he had been told he would be a key figure when he returned from injury towards the tailend of the season, hoping to help Blackburn Rovers over the line in their hunt for a play-off finish.

Rovers are currently fifth in the Championship table, with 13 games remaining.

However, Sigurdsson is now focusing on getting fit enough to feature for Iceland in their upcoming Nations League play-offs against Kosovo in March.

Sigurdsson has made 34 appearances for Iceland since making his debut in November 2018, although his final cap came back in June 2024.

Sigurdsson continued: "Both the coach and the club's management had spoken to me and told me how important I would be to the team for these last few games in the fight for a play-off spot in the league, that I could make the difference.

“But then you get this in your face.

"I've been out for a long time, last playing in October.