Former Reading captains among released players as EFL sides reveal retained lists

A pair of former Reading captains are among the raft of EFL players released after clubs revealed their retained squad lists.

With League One and League Two done and dusted, barring the highly-anticipated play-off campaigns, relegation and survival has been confirmed in the bottom two rungs of professional football.

Managers are already looking ahead to pre-season and building their squads for the summer, with those out of contract either kept on or let go.

Among the hundreds let go so far include former Royal captains Alex Pearce and Liam Moore.

35-year-old Pearce rose through the ranks with Reading and made over 200 appearances for the club, winning Player of the Season in 2011/12 as the club were promoted to the Premier League and captaining the Royals at Wembley for the 2015 FA Cup semi-final.

The Republic of Ireland international departed in 2015 and enjoyed a Championship stay with the likes of Derby County and Millwall.

Dropping down to the fourth tier in 2022 with Wimbledon, Pearce played 39 times in two seasons- including 17 times in the season just gone.

Meanwhile, 31-year-old Moore made eight appearances for Northampton Town in the final few months of the campaign after leaving Reading in the summer of 2022.

The central defender had previously spent seven years in Berkshire, winning Player of the Season in 2018 but struggling with injuries toward the end of his spell.

It remains to be seen what the future holds for the pair of former popular performers.

Reading are yet to announce its released and retained list, with talks ongoing with those out of contract at the end of June.