Tebily leaves Birmingham City

Defender Olivier Tebily has left Birmingham City after the club paid up the rest of his contract, which was due to expire in the summer.

The 32-year-old former Ivory Coast international moved to St Andrews from Celtic in 2002 for around £700,000. Tebily was initially a regular but has made just a handful of appearances in the past 18-months.

Tebily told the club’s official site: “I would like to thank the club, the staff and my team-mates, and of course the fans for the backing that I received during my time at Birmingham.

“I really enjoyed my time at the club and I had some fantastic times during almost six years that I was here. But I have now reached a stage in my career where I felt it was time to move on.”

Despite not holding down a regular first-team slot for an extended period since damaging his medial knee ligaments in December 2002 – an injury that kept him out for the season – Tebily’s versatility was such that he was given a new three-year deal in September 2005.

Tebily’s last game in a Birmingham shirt was against Norwich in October 2006. He is now free to find another club in order to try and find some first-team football for the few years that presumably remain of his career.