Kieran Trippier has hit out at Daniel Levy over the circumstances of his Tottenham exit, saying he was angry at the chairman offering him to other clubs.
Trippier ended a four-year spell at Spurs with a move to Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2019, with his last game the Champions League Final defeat to Liverpool.
The right-back admits he was not at his best in the first half of that year but says he was annoyed at the manner of his departure from Spurs.
The 31-year-old joined Newcastle United earlier this month as the first signing of the club’s new Saudi-backed ownership.
“If you look back to the last few months of my Tottenham career, I admit that I wasn’t at the levels that I was at the [2018] World Cup and there’s no excuse for that,” Trippier said in an interview with Alan Shearer for the Athletic.
“As a footballer, you’re trying to do your best and sometimes things don’t go your way. It just wasn’t happening, but I was still getting picked by [manager] Mauricio Pochettino.
“After the Champions League final, it felt like the right time to move on. The media weren’t really on my side at the time and maybe I needed to get out of England for a bit just to clear my mind. I never looked back.
“What annoyed me … as you know, people in football speak and there are always rumours, but I know 100 per cent for a fact – and this is what I was most angry about – that two months before the end of the season, Daniel was offering me to other clubs. I knew for certain that was happening, so I knew my time there must be up. I was playing for my team-mates and the supporters, but I also knew I wasn’t wanted.”
Asked the reasons for Spurs’ decline since losing to Liverpool in Madrid, Trippier pointed to the sale of Mousa Dembele to China in January 2019.
“For me, the big one was selling Mousa Dembele that January,” he said. “I think I can speak on behalf of the players who were there. In the dressing room, he was an unbelievable person and all the lads loved him, but on the pitch he was the kind of player who would make a couple of per cent difference. That’s what wins you things.”
