His three seasons at Blackburn have been injury-hit, resulting in only 56 appearances, and his final game was the 4-3 win at Millwall.

That thrilling encounter saw Rovers narrowly miss a place in the play-offs on the final day of the league season.

"It's a bitter-sweet moment really," said Ayala, ahead of his departure on June 30.

"I've been really happy here for the last three years and part of me wanted to stay, because it's a great club, with great fans and great staff, but I know that it's part of football and I have to move on.

"I've had some really happy times here, but also some down moments as well, especially with a few injuries, which prevented me from playing as many games as I wanted and perhaps showing a bit more what I can do.

"Missing out on the play-offs in the last two seasons has been really frustrating, because I can see that the team has got enough to get there. For one reason or another we just fell short, but the club is in a great position to challenge again, with a great manager, a great group of players and real togetherness, and I firmly believe that they can get there."

Ayala is the second big name who has announced he is leaving Ewood this week, with Bradley Dack yesterday revealing his own future lies away from the club.