Toby Alderweireld reveals why he decided to stay at Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur managed to secure the long term future of Toby Alderweireld last month when he signed a new contract.

The Belgian international extended his stay in North London until 2023 which ended speculation about his future.

Tottenham took the decision to trigger a clause in Alderweireld’s contract last January until the summer of 2020 which also caused the activation of a £25million release clause during last summer’s transfer window (talkSPORT).

Despite the relatively low fee, no club managed to prise the former Ajax player away from the Champions League finalists.

Alderweireld has revealed that he decided to take loyalty to Spurs over money when he put pen to paper last month.

Whilst he admitted that Spurs had made him a good offer, he acknowledged the fact that he could have earned considerably more elsewhere.

The 30-year-old would have been able to command a significant wage as a free agent, but after speaking with his family and Jose Mourinho, he felt no reason to leave N17.

“Financially the club made a good effort that showed me they really wanted me so that gave me respect,” Alderweireld told The Telegraph.

“I could maybe earn a lot more somewhere else, but then I chose loyalty, that’s worth something as well.

“I talked to my wife, we have a second kid on the way. First of all, I asked her: ‘What do you want?’ She said she’s happy to stay, she loves it here, but that I can choose whatever I want. That gave me the opportunity to explore everything that I wanted.

“But the more that I thought about a new episode somewhere else, the more I thought, ‘No, I just want to stay.’ I’ve always been happy here since day one. I’ve felt very wanted here and have a very good connection with the fans.

“Then, of course, the last step was the manager, who really believed in me. I had a good connection with him from day one. So all those small steps took me into the big decision to stay.”

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