Christophe Berra: Defender leaving Ipswich Town to move closer to Scotland

Christophe Berra (left) joined Ipswich from Wolves in 2013.

Scotland defender Christophe Berra is to leave Ipswich Town when his contract expires in the summer.

The club say the 32-year-old wants to return north in order to spend more time with his daughter.

Berra, who has 35 caps, moved to England in 2009 to join Wolves, then managed by Mick McCarthy, who also took him to Ipswich in 2013.

"It's a situation we have been aware of for some time," McCarthy told the Ipswich website.

Ipswich had the option to extend Berra's deal for a further 12 months, but agreed not to take it up to allow him to return closer to home.

The centre-back made 185 appearances for Ipswich, scoring 14 goals.

"He is not doing anything devious, he just wants to spend more time with his daughter and anyone with family can respect that," McCarthy added.

"Christophe has been fantastic for us. He has been one of the best defenders in the Championship over the last four years and I didn't want to lose him, but I understand fully why he wants to go back closer to home and we wish him well."