Heurelho Gomes has revealed that he refused to play for Harry Redknapp after the former Tottenham manager picked Brad Friedel over him and the Brazilian admitted that he regrets what he said to the former Spurs boss at the time.
Gomes arrived with a massive reputation from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2008 and following a shaky start to his Tottenham career, he made the number-one spot his own for three seasons.
While he was still prone to the occasional moment of madness, he was also capable of pulling off some outstanding saves that would leave fans in disbelief.
Eventually, Redknapp decided to bring in the more steady and reliable Brad Freidel to replace him in the summer of 2011, and Gomes admitted that there was friction between him and the former Spurs boss at the time.
Heurelho Gomes left Spurs on a sour note
The 44-year-old, who went on to make 144 appearances for Watford after joining the Hornets from Spurs in 2014, revealed that he never played for the Lilywhites again after getting into an argument with Redknapp.
Gomes told talkSPORT: “I never had problems with managers apart from Harry – once! He put me on the bench and one day he said to me: ‘Come here, big man. I want to talk to you’.
“Brad Friedel had played against, I think QPR, and he did not have a good game. So [Redknapp] came to me the next day and said: ‘Now I realise that you are the best goalkeeper at the club’.
“And I was upset with him, of course. I said: ‘I don’t want to play for you anymore’. My biggest mistake in football was that. He dropped me before and he was going to give me another chance, and I said that to him.”
Gomes revealed that he later realised he was in the wrong and apologised to Redknapp years later.
He continued: “I played a charity game with Tottenham [years later] and he was there. I came to him and I said: ‘I want to apologise to you, Harry. Forgive me please’.
“Sometimes you have to think before you say something and I did not think about that. I never played [for Tottenham again]. I regret that. Harry is a great man. That is why I wanted to go to him and apologise.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It is natural for players to get upset with managers about selection decisions at the highest level of the game. The fact that Gomes felt the need to apologise to Harry years later shows the kind of character the Brazilian is.