England international full-back Kieran Trippier has criticised Tottenham for the way in which his move to Atletico Madrid was handled.
Former manager Mauricio Pochettino and chairman Daniel Levy were particularly targeted by the 29-year-old, who claims that their failure to give him assurances over his future led to his departure from a club that had just reached the Champions League final.
Indeed, Trippier claims that his preference would have been to remain with Spurs rather than make a £20 million ($25m) move to Spain.
“I did knock on his [Pochettino's] door, and I said I have an opportunity to go to Atletico Madrid,” he told The Beautiful Game podcast.
“If I am part of your plans, then I will stay. He didn't give me a yes, and he didn't give me a no in his office. So as a player you think: ‘Oh right okay, no problem.’
“Then I went to the chairman and told him the exact same. I had a conversation with the manager, and I said am I part of your plans? If I am, no problem but I have a great opportunity here to go to Atletico Madrid.
“Going back to what I said before, in March/April I hear off people I trust that they've tried to offload me. Offering me to clubs.”
Pochettino had previously insisted that the deal was instigated by the player.
The Argentine said: “The only conversation when he arrived after the summer was when he came to see me, he asked me for a meeting, and said: ‘Gaffer, I think I have a good possibility and for different reasons I would like to accept the offer from Atlético Madrid.’
“He didn’t ask me nothing. He only communicated whether the club were going to accept the offer. Nothing more. It wasn’t a conversation – Do you want me? Or don’t you want me?”
Trippier has proven to be a regular at Atletico Madrid, where he has featured on 29 occasions this season, most notably in the club’s 3-2 extra-time victory over Liverpool at Anfield which eliminated the Champions League winners and allowed Diego Simeone’s men to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition, which will be played in Lisbon in August.