Former RSC Anderlecht midfielder Mats Rits has departed the club with a sense of betrayal, publicly criticizing the communication he received from former sporting director Olivier Renard and Tim Borguet during his exit.
According to Rits, the core issue was not the decision to move on from the player, but the lack of honesty in how that decision was communicated. He expressed understanding that a club might decide a player no longer fits its profile but emphasized that straightforward communication would have allowed him to make his own choices. “If we communicate openly about that… I also said that in those conversations. Just say it honestly. If I then want to leave or not want to leave, that’s my choice,” Rits stated, as reported by Voetbalkrant.com.
Rits Details Contradictory Messages from Club Leadership
Rits recounted seeking clarity on his future with Anderlecht on two separate occasions. In both meetings with Renard and Borguet, he claims he was explicitly told he was not required to leave the club. “They answered that if you want to play every match, you can just look for other opportunities. But for us, you certainly do not have to leave,” Rits explained of these discussions, as reported by Voetbalkrant.com.
The situation changed abruptly. At the start of September, Rits was informed that he was no longer part of the club’s plans. This explanation, from his perspective, directly contradicted the assurances he had received just weeks prior. Voetbalkrant.com reported that Rits felt he was given no proper explanation from Renard or Borguet for the shift. “I brought it up at that time. We briefly talked about it. It was decided, so that was it,” Rits described the final conversation, as reported by Voetbalkrant.com.
Walfoot.be corroborated these events, reporting that Rits was twice told by the club’s leadership that he did not need to leave and was free to fight for his place, only to be unexpectedly exiled to the B-team on the final day of the transfer window. This turn of events, Rits argued, was both financially and sport illogical, as the club continued to pay his wages while losing an experienced option for the coaching staff, according to VoetbalNieuws.be.
A “Bizarre” Turn of Events and a Return to the First Team
The Voetbal.headliner.nl outlet described Rits’s account as a “bizarre story.” After being told he could stay and then suddenly dropped to the B-kern, Rits’s situation shifted once again with the dismissal of Olivier Renard. Under new sporting leadership, including Antoine Sibierski and Kenneth Bornauw, Rits was reportedly welcomed back into the A-kern. This change in treatment, he noted, was a stark contrast to his experience under the previous regime, with Voetbal.headliner.nl stating he speaks positively about Sibierski and Bornauw, whom he felt treated him correctly.
👀 | Mats Rits houdt een wrang gevoel over aan zijn afscheid bij RSC Anderlecht. 🚪🟣 pic.twitter.com/F1Yl0QWlnh
The Player’s Stance: Honesty Over Evasion
Throughout his comments, Rits maintained that he could have accepted a sportive decision from the club. He acknowledged that football involves choices where a club might determine a player’s age, profile, or the need for a different type of midfielder no longer aligns with the project. “I could easily have put myself in the shoes of the people on the other side of the table. If a club or a sporting director says you no longer fit the project, that can happen. That’s part of football,” Rits explained, as reported by Voetbalkrant.com.
His objection, therefore, was never to being deemed surplus to requirements, but to the perceived lack of straightforward communication. He argued that an honest conversation would have allowed him to assess other opportunities during the transfer window, rather than being left in the dark until it was too late.
What’s Next: Rits Faces Anderlecht
Rits’s departure and subsequent public criticism coincide with an upcoming match between his new club, Beerschot, and his old one, Anderlecht.
The departure of Renard and Borguet coincided with a change in approach, which Rits noted as more respectful. The club’s handling of player communications may be scrutinized as Sibierski and Bornauw continue to shape the squad and its culture.
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