Reading FC defender Liam Moore has been stripped of the club captaincy, the Royals announced Saturday night in an official statement.

Released just hours after Reading's 2-1 defeat to Middlesbrough, the statement claims that Moore has told the club of his intention to leave.

As such Reading have announced that Moore will no longer be captain, stating: "Our club, together with its manager, is intent on selecting players in the first team squad who are dedicated to giving their absolute all to Reading Football Club. That starts with our captain. As a result, Moore will no longer be given the honour of our club captaincy."

While the statement notes that no viable move has been found for Moore, it now certainly appears he will be on his way out of the club sooner rather than later.

The central defender joined Reading from Leicester City in 2016 and amidst heavy transfer speculation signed a new five-year deal in 2018. Moore has made a total of 230 Reading appearances including 17 this season, but he hasn't been seen since the early December defeat to West Brom. His absence is supposedly due to a "soft-tissue" injury but this new development leaves that in question.

There is yet to be an official announcement as to who will replace Moore as captain but Josh Laurent has been leading the team out with Moore sidelined.

Shortly after the release of the statement, Moore took to Instagram to voice his displeasure, posting the following on his story:

In addition to the comment on Moore's role at the club, the statement reiterates that owner Dai Yongge is committed to Reading Football Club while offering support for under-fire manager Veljko Paunovic.

The full statement can be read below:

Over the course of the last few months, centre-back Liam Moore has spoken with manager Veljko Paunovic and directors of the club to state his clear desire to leave Reading Football Club and pursue his career elsewhere.

Obviously, we are disappointed that Liam, a player awarded one of the club’s most significant contracts, has now stated his intention to move on. Whilst we have patiently waited for his representatives to provide us with options for us to consider in helping him fulfil that request, no offer or opportunity has been presented to the club to date.

Our club, together with its manager, is intent on selecting players in the first team squad who are dedicated to giving their absolute all to Reading Football Club. That starts with our captain. As a result, Moore will no longer be given the honour of our club captaincy.

Our owner, Mr Dai, has made significant financial commitment to Reading Football Club and continues to invest wholeheartedly in a project which remains very close to his heart. When football was forced behind closed doors during the pandemic, Mr Dai continued to support the club and his investment has been the catalyst in developing a state-of-the-art training facility, capable of attracting the best young talent to our club now and in the future.

Although we have undeniably experienced a very difficult first half to our season, due in part to an unimaginable injury crisis which has most recently left us devoid of almost all our fit or available defensive options, we still demand loyalty, focus and committed performances from every individual who pulls on a Reading shirt in front of our fans. And we expect our players, particularly our new captain, to wear the crest with pride and dedicate their total focus to the club on behalf of its loyal fanbase.

Mr Dai is fully supportive of the manager and his decisions and understanding of the hard few months we have endured both on and off the pitch. Together we are stronger and will prevail.

Our owner and everyone involved with Reading Football Club would like to sincerely thank our fans for their incredible support and will endeavour to work even harder to help us achieve our collective goals.