Ross McCrorie admits he made his mind up to leave Rangers a year ago.
The Scotland Under-21 captain has joined Aberdeen on loan for the rest of the season, with an agreement in place to make it a permanent switch come the summer.
The Pittodrie move – which will cost the Dons £350,000 – ends boyhood Gers fan McCrorie's decade-long association with the Light Blues.
Now the 22-year-old has revealed he realised last summer before departing for a loan spell at Portsmouth that he would have to move on from Ibrox for the good of his career.
Former manager Pedro Caixinha tipped the Gers academy graduate to become a star for club and country when he handed him his debut back in 2017.
But current Light Blues boss Steven Gerrard preferred the likes of Ryan Jack, Steven Davis, Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo in midfield, leaving McCrorie frustrated.
McCrorie – who is set to make his Dons debut when they take on St Johnstone in Perth on Thursday night – said: "I'm not going to lie, I'm absolutely buzzing to get up here.
"The reason why I went to Pompey last year was because I felt if I stayed at Rangers, my development was going to stall.
"Now the opportunity at Aberdeen has arose and for me I had to get a permanent move somewhere and to get somewhere settled.
"For me, I thought Aberdeen was the best place to come and develop as a player."
Asked if it was tough to leave Rangers, he said: "Nah, it was pretty easy for me to be fair. It's my career so I've got to do what's best for myself.
"It had been coming ever since I moved to Pompey, I'd started thinking then that I'd have to leave.
"Once I came back from down south I told the club that it was time for me to leave, that I had to go.
"It's not any good for me staying and Aberdeen is the best place for me to go show what I can do.
"I don't want to talk about anything to do with Rangers now. It's all about Aberdeen for me, I'm an Aberdeen player and that's my sole focus now."
