Jack Byrne has cast light on the difficulties that led to his departure from APOEL last year, which included unpaid wages.
The Ireland international re-signed for champions Shamrock Rovers ahead of the new season after leaving the club following 2020’s title win.
He was tempted over to Cyprus by Mick McCarthy, who had given him his Ireland debut months earlier, but the Yorkshireman was sacked within two weeks of his arrival.
Byrne, 25, made his debut in a defeat to mid-table Doxa on January 5, a day after his signing was formally announced, and McCarthy was dismissed the next day.
That was only the beginning of the Ballybough man’s troubles in Nicosia as he underwent surgery on a herniated disc in March that kept him out for the rest of the season.
And amid a period that players at the club went unpaid, Byrne chose to accept a settlement to his contract and leave the club.
He had offers from both sides of the Atlantic but eventually chose to come back to the club he’s made his home for the new season.
“Players weren’t getting paid, players were owed money,” Byrne said following the 3-1 win over Drogheda United on Monday night, in which Byrne scored one and assisted another.
“A lot of stuff was going on. We came to an agreement and I moved on and just took me time over what I needed to do next. But yeah, I was certainly part of that.”
McCarthy’s departure shortly after Byrne’s arrival certainly didn’t help but Byrne feels that, had things gone another way, Cyprus could have been a great experience.
The club were toiling at the bottom of the Cypriot Premier League and, unusually for the country’s most successful team, didn’t qualify for Europe.
“It’s difficult, but that’s football. I’m not going to change that. It could have been unbelievable, it could have been a great experience.
“It could have been completely different in the way it went. But I wouldn’t have known that unless I went over.”
There had been rumours over the summer that Byrne could return to Rovers, either permanently or on loan, while the possibility of an MLS move were also mooted.
Byrne poured cold water on those rumours and reaffirmed that the prospect of returning to Rovers only materialised in the off-season.
He said: “No, it wouldn’t have worked. I wasn’t homesick. It wasn’t as if I wanted to come back to Ireland or jumping to get out of Cyprus.
“It was the situation the club was in. I knew in March, I knew in April that I had to move with the situation at the club. Same as me, Joe Garner who went over with me.”
Looking back on the last 12 months, Byrne is clearly glad to be back in a position where he’s playing regularly but has no regrets about his decision to go to Cyprus.
While he went the guts of 12 months without playing a full game, there was a certain degree of upside as he spent time in slightly warmer climates than Tallaght.
“I was in Cyprus for a big chunk of it, and then I was in Dubai for another chunk of it. It was alright to be fair,” he laughed.
“Me head was okay! I obviously missed it, I wanted to get back, but the situation, I couldn’t change the situation.
“It was either leave APOEL in the summer, there was a couple of options that I could have chose to do, the clubs couldn’t strike a deal. I couldn’t force it.
“I had to wait until the transfer window had closed, as soon as it closed, the situation didn’t change over there, I had to move.
“Would it have been more sensible to stay there and wait until January? I don’t think so. The club came to me with an agreement and I was happy enough to do it.
“[I was happy] to step away from it. Take me time over the next decision. I’m comfortable with it, it happened. I enjoyed it over there. It is what it is.”
