Ranked: Liam Cooper’s top five Leeds United moments as he nears emotional exit – View

However, it’s quite another to be the player leading the team in its best era since relegation in 2004, captaining Marcelo Bielsa.

Missing the first game of the 20/21 season through injury, Cooper returned to the line-up and was key to making the team’s comeback such a joyous one, with massive results throughout the season, seeing Leeds finish in ninth place.

2: He turns 10 at his childhood club

This season did not end the way Cooper would have dreamed, with his contract expiring and hopes that his final act at the club had led the team to promotion, even though he was part of it.

That said, making it to 10 is something very few players can boast of having done at Elland Road.

It is rare in the modern game for players to amass such a career with one club and it is a testament to the defender.

The first: the 2020 lifting championship title

Of course, what is arguably the best moment of Cooper’s career was the man who lifted the championship title in 2020.

Leeds won the league under Bielsa in remarkable circumstances and Cooper was again key at the heart of a very strong defence.

Not many Leeds players have had the privilege of wearing the armband, let alone lifting silverware on top of it, but Cooper is one of them.

That Bielsa team will forever be remembered by the fans and Cooper takes on the captaincy, something he is undoubtedly incredibly proud of.