Antoni Sarcevic breaks silence after bust up leads to him leaving Bolton for Stockport

Antoni Sarcevic breaks his silence after a bust up leads to him leaving Bolton Wanderers for Stockport County according to reports.

On Friday afternoon, the 29 year old midfielder left the League One side for an out of the blue move to join the National League side.

Sarcevic has joined the Hatters on a free transfer on a deal which lasts until 2024, with his last game for the Trotters proving to be earlier this week after he came off the bench in the 3-0 loss on the road to Plymouth Argyle.

Sarcevic scored a total of 11 goals in 52 games for Bolton after joining the club last summer and captained Bolton to promotion out of League Two last season.

He has now taken to Instagram to post a message about his departure from the University of Bolton Stadium and he has said the memories of last season will ‘stay forever’ and thanked the fans for their support and wished Wanderers success going forwards.

But in a slightly cryptic conclusion, Sarcevic added that football is ‘brutal and can be out of your control’, adding a blue heart emoji and a face with a zipped mouth at the end.

He wrote: “Believe me when I say it was the proudest moment being captain of this club and the memories made in that season will stay forever.

“To the amazing fans who have wrote to me and ones who have just been brilliant thanks for everything, thanks for the support and I wish you all the success going forward.

“This sport is brutal and can be out of your control.

“Love Sarce x.”

He could make his Hatters debut against Notts County this afternoon in the National League.

It’s claimed that he had a bust up with manager Ian Evatt, following the player’s surprise omission from the Trotters’ starting line-up in midweek.

It appears neither party is standing down following an exchange of words either so he’s made the decision to exit.

Evatt has spoken on the decision to make defender Santos the club’s new skipper.

“Rico is a key player for us and is also extremely popular and well respected in the dressing room,” he said, who will welcome the central defender back from suspension for Saturday’s home game against Gillingham.

“Making him captain will give him even more responsibility and it’s another important step in his career with us.”

Fans reacted as Antoni Sarcevic breaks his silence after a bust up leads to him leaving Bolton for Stockport…

@PD_1972: Still a mystery to me, you simply don’t leave as Club Captain after a few games, something very serious gone on behind the scenes. Sarce is such an underrated player and one I think we’ll seriously miss. We now desperately need Lee & Sheehan to stay fit.

@WandererSmurf: The club captain of an upwardly mobile L1 football club doesn’t just depart for a NL club over a post match disagreement. There has to be more to this. For now, I side with Evatt but the next few games will show if his team is still with him or not. Bolton obv need to win today.

@PhilipShortland: This move didn’t happen over night. You do not find a non league club and sign a 30 month deal worth 450k in 24 hours?

@Mospeyboy: Team bonding gone a bit too far?

@garysjackson: Hope that statement doesn’t have a destabilising effect on todays match. It seems to leave more questions than it’s answered. Surely a single disagreement over team selection for one match can’t be the cause? I guess we’ll just never know. #bwfc

@PhilipShortland: The power of incentivised NDA’s G, although there’s an argument the club should get a grip of news management. The rumours I’ve read are not only bizarre but potentially hurtful.

@_tomd94: Anyone else following him out of the door?

@tonyjoe90: It tells you he didn’t want to leave but things came to a head

@ianmassey76: Still pretty gutted about this. Sarce always came across well and, for me, was a proper leader on the pitch. A player we don’t have a replacement for in our current squad. However, I think it is important to trust what the owner is doing. January could be interesting.

@nlparky: Is anyone going to ask evatt straight about this?

@rikp71: If you see his insta post he has put a zipped lips emoji at the end – more to this than the numerous rumours on social media

@OgnunoPerSe: Not going to slag him off as I felt he always put a shift in when he was on the pitch and was a key player last year but the fans need to know the truth of what’s happened here, today’s result and the response from the lads is going to speak volumes

@BWFCJOEandSAM: He came in our hour of need and lead us back up to L1. Without him we would not be here. He has been a model captain and has given me some of the most enjoyable times in the past 15months. Good luck to the lad and I really hope he gets a resounding applause if he ever returns.

@MattGordon85: I honestly can’t believe he left the club yesterday, club captain, scored some of the most important goals last season and this season, leaving the club at the end of October to drop out the football league. Something doesn’t quite add up. Thanks for everything @ASarcevic.

@jobo901: Remember that @ASarcevic is allowed to make decisions that works for him and his family just like we all do – he’s a person that’s been good to our club – he’s done more than we have – show respect #bwfc

@SkhTrains: Wishing @ASarcevic all the best, message like this seems like he was driven out. And with Evatt being the League One rent-a-gob at times, that honestly wouldn’t surprise me #bwfc

@abbieleatham: Clearly something has gone on at the club… Wish you nothing but the best @ASarcevic. Thanks for promotion memories last season! #bwfc.