Darcheville joined Rangers from Bordeaux in 2007

Rangers have announced that striker Jean-Claude Darcheville will join French club Valenciennes in January.

The 33-year-old had mixed feelings at leaving the Ibrox club after an 18-month spell of varying success.

"It is a difficult moment for me to leave Rangers because I played for a year-and-a-half here and I was very happy in Glasgow," he said.

"It will be good to go back to France to see my family, but I really enjoyed playing for Rangers."

Darcheville will team up with former Rangers forward Filip Sebo at the Ligue 1 outfit.

The Frenchman enjoyed a productive first season in Glasgow, with Rangers going close to an unprecedented quadruple of trophies, and proved his worth as an impact player, often coming off the bench to grab crucial goals.

Rangers reached the Uefa Cup final and ran Celtic close in the race for the league title, eventually winning the Scottish Cup and CIS Insurance Cup.

(Playing for Rangers) was one of the highlights of my career Jean-Claude Darcheville

But Darcheville has struggled to maintain match fitness during his stint in Glasgow and, with competition fierce for forward positions this season, he has made only seven starts for Walter Smith's side.

He told the club's official website that playing for Rangers was one of the highlights of his career.

"Last year was my best season because we won two cups and I scored lots of goals," he said.

"It was a disappointment to lose the SPL in the last game and lose the Uefa Cup final, but I can't forget what happened as there were still a lot of good memories.

"It has been a special time. I have good friends here who I can call when I leave and I'll always be a Rangers fan."

Rangers manager Walter Smith said that, so far, Darcheville is the only player set to leave Ibrox in the new year transfer window.

"There have been no other approaches for anyone else." Smith said.

Smith indicated last week that up to 10 of his first-team squad could leave by the summer as part of an Ibrox clearout.

MY SPORT: DEBATE Are Gers fans sorry to see Darcheville go?

The names of any of those likely to leave have been guesswork until it was revealed that Darcheville visited VA's facilities last week and met club directors.

Valenciennes have scored just 14 goals in 18 matches and are in desperate need of an experienced goalscorer.

Darcheville joined Rangers from Bordeaux in 2007, having previously played for Rennes, Nottingham Forest and Lorient.

Injuries have hampered him this season, scoring just once in 10 appearances.

But he scored 12 goals in 30 league outings for the Glasgow side last term.

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