Toby Alderweireld has insisted that he was not pushed out of Tottenham Hotspur after leaving the club this summer.
Alderweireld had two years left on his contract in North London and left in July after six years at the club, joining the Qatari side Al-Duhail.
The Belgium international made 236 appearances for Spurs in all competitions (transfermarkt) after joining from Atlético Madrid in 2015 and was an integral part of the side that mounted back-to-back Premier League title challenges and reached to the Champions League final under the management of Mauricio Pochettino.
The 32-year-old admitted that the decision to depart was his own, with Spurs agreeing to facilitate a transfer after giving his peak years in football to the club.
Alderweireld formed a formidable partnership with compatriot Jan Vertonghen at Spurs for half a decade together and at their peak together were of the best central defensive duos in world football.
In an interview with the Evening Standard, he said: “Spurs never pushed me [out],”
“I think I’m not lying when I say they respect what I did for the club. I gave my best years for the club, achieved a lot of big things together.
“And I have a lot of respect for Spurs. They said if you want to go, we understand. You gave your best for Spurs and we’ll work with it if that’s what you want.”
SpursWeb Opinion
The partnership between Toby and Jan during the peak of Pochettino’s reign was arguably our greatest defensive duo of the Premier League era, and many fans would certainly crave to have a pairing of their quality at the club right now.
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