Yeah I’d agree. Still it’s crap that we let him go for nothing. Kinda makes me wish we could demand a transfer fee and get some cash for him at least.
There are other factors though too, you won't have a great relationship between every club but it pays to have some good will around the place
Further to that there may be a managerial element to it, keeping good will (within reason) with those leeches can be important
And of course just good will in playing group, it's a juggling act - you don't want them to think the contract is meaningless if they get a better offer but you don't want your 3rd choice fullback stropping around kicking stones at every session because you made him honour his. You'd like to think a high profile player would know they won't get the same leniency of release as a squaddie but would also recognise at the end of the day if absolutely necessary the club would work with them
Agree a transfer fee kind of does a bit of each of the above and still lines our pockets though.
Cheeky 50k is half the value of winning the preseason!