Freddie Frans says it was the most difficult decision of his life to leave Partick Thistle, but that he couldn’t afford to stay on the reduced terms he was offered by the club.

The Belgian defender last night signed for his former side Lierse, but he told SportTimes that he was faced with a heart-wrenching dilemma before finally opting to return to his homeland.

“It may sound stupid because it’s only football, but for me it was the biggest and hardest decision of my life,” he said. “Everybody knows that I love Glasgow and Scotland, and I love the club and the people.

“I didn’t want to leave, I wanted to stay and play a few more years for Partick Thistle, but then the offer came and there was a big pay cut. I’m not blaming the club for that, they have a tight budget and I understand that.

“After taking my time to think about it, the best thing was not to take it as it wouldn’t be a great situation for me and my family financially. Then a few other offers came, so I’m looking forward now. I’m going back to my old team Lierse, and they made a big effort to get me back.

“I’d love to stay in Glasgow, but Lierse is only 20 minutes from where I live in Belgium, and financially it’s a lot better with only one house to pay for. And like I said, the pay cut was a little bit too much for me to take.

“The club have to do what they think is best, that’s up to them and they’ve always been fair with me.

“I think I played pretty decent there even though I was a bit hampered last season by injury, and if you look at the support I got from the fans – which was always amazing – then I must have done something right I think.”

Frans leaves with a treasure trove of cherished memories of his time with the Jags, and there is one moment that stands out above all others – his thunderbolt of a strike in Dingwall during his first season in the country.

He said: “My best memory was the goal at Ross County I think. Not only the goal, but the way it went in and what it meant, I think it is one that the fans will always remember.

“The Thistle fans are always talking to me about that moment, so that was amazing.

“Even just going into training was amazing for me though. I’ve made some friends for life among the players and the coaching staff. It has been brilliant.”

Alarm bells may now be ringing among some of the Thistle faithful, as the loss of Frans along with fellow experienced centre-back Dan Seaborne leaves the Jags rear-guard looking a little threadbare.

Frans has faith in manager Alan Archibald to unearth suitable replacements in time for the big kick-off in July though.

“With me and Dan going that means two centre-backs who played a lot of games together are going from the spine of the team," Frans said.

“They have a great young boy in Liam Lindsay who had a great season, but they will need someone to replace us with me and Dan going. The fact that Gaz Miller hasn’t signed yet either will be important, because he’s a good player around the team.

“They’ve got a good core though, and the gaffer and Maxi know what they are doing. They’ve shown in the past that they can find good new players.

“All I wish for is that they do well in the future and I really hope they can make the top six next season.”