READING FC have announced seven first-team players whose contracts have expired will leave the club, including club captain Paul McShane.

Also departing Royals are goalkeepers Anssi Jaakola and George Legg, Joey van den Berg, Danzell Gravenberch, Callum Harriott and the retiring John O’Shea.

Club captain McShane, who went on to make more than 100 appearances for Reading after joining in the summer of 2015, took to Instagram to post: “And that concludes my time with Reading FC. I’d like to thank all the fans for their support over the years.

“My aim when I came here was to get this club back to the Premier League, and I gave everything to achieve that.

“We came so close in 16/17 but it wasn’t to be. It was a true honour to be captain for four years and I’ve learned a lot both on and off the pitch.

“Thank you all for the memories and I wish the club all the success in the future. Much love, Macca.”

Van den Berg – who spent last season on loan at Dutch side NEC – started 63 games for Reading while coming off the bench five times, with 32-year-old Jaakkola making 43 (+1) appearances during three seasons at Madejski Stadium.

Harriott’s time at Madejski was blighted by injuries, spending nearly two years in rehab following a hamstring problem picked up in the infamous fog-abandoned clash against Fulham in December 2016.

And he said: “Would like to thank everyone at Reading for the love and support over the years, however this journey has come to an end.

“Had a crazy year of injuries that I have overcome. My team mates are now brothers to me and I wish you all the best.”

O’Shea – signed from Sunderland last summer – was another who suffered with injury during his time at Madejski Stadium, with the former Manchester United playing making just 10 appearances for Reading.

Gravenberch made just one appearance for Royals and spent the past two seasons on loan in Belgium, while Legg featured in the first team squad on a number of occasions without ever gaining a cap.

Manager Jose Gomes said the coming weeks are vital for Reading’s chance, stating: “For me the picture is clear, the success of next season depends on these next two or three weeks.

“We need to reduce the budget and the number of players we have to get some money and make a good job of the following weeks.

“How we work in the next two or three weeks is key for the new season. It will be difficult and some things aren’t in our hands, but it’s our job.

“We have players that have finished their contract and others that are still under contract, but we must find a way to resolve the problem because they can’t go on with us any more.

“We have others that have finished their loan, but we don’t know if their clubs accept that they can return.

“We have until June 30 to make money with players otherwise we can’t make any contract offers.”

Meanwhile, Tyler Frost, Adam Liddle and Ramarni Medford-Smith have all been offered new professional contracts with the club following impressive seasons with Reading’s promotion-chasing Under-23s in 2018-19.