Spurs release Benoit Assou-Ekotto

Sometimes it is so hard to say goodbye. A person has given you so many memories. So many quotes. So many style tips. So many LOLs.

And yet we have to say goodbye, as we do today to Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

Tottenham Hotspur have released the defender, ending a nine-year stay with Spurs. Assou-Ekotto signed with the club in 2006, playing 155 matches with the club. He was the team's first choice left back for a while, but his place in the team disappeared after Harry Redknapp's departure. A loan spell at Queens Park Rangers took him away from the club last season, but he returned this season and has been left out of the team ever single week.

Now 30 years old, Assou-Ekotto will be free to look for a club. It's tough to see him go after so many memories, even if it is entirely the right decision for Spurs. Whether it was his place, his honesty in saying that football was just a job to him, his array of hairstyles or seeing how integrated he was in the community after the London riots, Assou-Ekotto has been tremendous.

You were the best, Benny. We'll miss you.