From what I understand friends within the game will be kept on the same servers if possible for league matches but friends on other servers will be grouped in Cups on that server.
So as you say he is always hanging around.
I had a similar situation last season.
I removed him after the CL final last season, before the season end in other words.
When the game engine ran it's update in the closed season and the new fixtures and comps were programmed he was gone.![]()