The veteran winger appeared in 41 of Pompey’s 48 matches last season
John Mousinho has confirmed Matt Ritchie will be leaving Pompey.
The Blues have reached agreement with the attacker that he can quit Fratton Park this summer should he find another club, with no transfer fee required.
The 35-year-old attended pre-season testing a fortnight ago, yet hasn’t been involved in training since, including not being present on Pompey’s Slovakian training camp.
Crucially, Mousinho intended on a reduced involvement for the former Newcastle United man next season - with the Blues in the market to recruit at least one more right winger.
As a consequence, the pair have ‘shaken hands’ and agreed to a parting of the ways.
‘He can go and explore pastures new’
Mousinho told The News: ‘Probably the cat is out of the bag with Matt.
‘We had a conversation at the back end of last year and again a couple of weeks ago about Matt’s role this season and the potential for playing time. We basically ended up shaking hands and saying Matt is free to find other opportunities if available to him.
‘There's a real desire in Matt to still play and to still feature every single week in the Championship - and he was absolutely terrific for us last year in terms of everything we did to get us into the position we are in now.
John Mousinho has confirmed Matt Ritchie will be leaving Fratton Park this summer. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImagesplaceholder image
John Mousinho has confirmed Matt Ritchie will be leaving Fratton Park this summer. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages | National World
‘But Matt’s expectation versus mine or versus ours as a club didn’t necessarily match up. We wanted to make sure we ended on a high and with that relationship intact, so Matt can go and explore pastures new.
‘Matt probably expected more playing time than last season. Matt is someone who is incredibly fit, incredibly ambitious, he started 28 games last season. I am pretty sure if you gave him the option, he will be ready to start 46 games the season after.
‘There’s definitely a hunger and desire there, even at Matt’s age, to play as many games as possible and we completely respect that.
‘There was no disagreement, we ended up speaking very amicably about it and that’s the best way. What we wanted to avoid is having any disagreement further down the line when games started.’
12 months remaining on Fratton Park deal
There surely won’t be any shortage of takers for Ritchie, although the level of club will clearly be central to any decision.
He has 12 months remaining on the two-year deal he signed in August 2024, marking an emotional return to Fratton Park after 13-and-a-half years away.
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And Mousinho is hopeful that Ritchie, who turns 36 in September, can find another club before the start of the 2025-26 season.
‘We’ve give him a bit of time to deal with opportunities’
He added: ‘Matt trained for the first couple of days when we were back and then we had the conversation off the back of that.
‘We've just given him a bit of time to make sure he stays fit and able to deal with opportunities if anything arises while we are away.
‘I’m not sure how things are progressing. To be honest, that hasn’t been anything I’ve been thinking about this week, I’ve been really, really busy. That is something for the club and Matt's agent to deal with.’
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