Allow me to tell you a wee tale about a lad named Leon Balogun, born on the 28th of June, 1988. That makes him 36 years old, for anyone struggling with maths. Balogun, a proud German, is a defender who mostly plies his trade as a central defender for Rangers. Measuring up at a tidy 6ft 2in (1.9m) tall and tipping the scales at a solid 14st (89kg), he's quite the figure on the pitch. Our boy dons the number 27 jersey, a number as good as any, I suppose.
This merry dance of Balogun's career begins in July 2008, when he joined Hannover 96 in the 2. Bundesliga. Exciting stuff, he made a whopping one first team appearance in his debut season. Unbelievable, eh?
But wait, there's more. In July 2010, Balogun transferred from Hannover to SV Werder Bremen II. Here, he managed a good show with 28 first team appearances and a solitary goal in his first season. Quite the improvement.
Our protagonist then danced his jig over to Fortuna Dusseldorf, still within the warm embrace of the 2. Bundesliga, in July 2012. He left the team after two reasonably quiet seasons.
Darmstadt 98 became the next chapter in Balogun's grand tale in October 2014. He spent a single season there before pouncing on the opportunity to move to Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga in 2015.
It seems the Bundesliga was more to Balogun's taste as he enjoyed three moderately busy seasons with Mainz, making between 14 to 21 first team appearances per season.
Seeking fresher pastures, Balogun transferred to Brighton & Hove Albion in the English Premier League in 2018. His tenure was largely unremarkable, with a loan spell at Wigan Athletic interrupting his time at the Seagulls.
Come July 2020, Balogun blew in from the south and touched down at Rangers, where he made a reasonable impact in each of his seasons. Now, in the current year of 2024, our central defender is still holding his ground at the Scottish club, claiming 12 first team appearances so far this season.
If all that wasn't thrilling enough, Balogun had a brief stint with Queens Park Rangers in the English Championship in the 2022 - 2023 season before returning to Rangers for another swatch at Scottish football.
Balogun's dance card isn't limited to just league matches, mind you. For Rangers in the 2024 - 2025 season, he's put in appearances in the League Cup, the Champions League Qualifiers, and the Europa League. Just proving he's no one-trick pony, our Leon.
