Kieran Trippier: “I have received mixed messages” before leaving Tottenham football news

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Kieran Trippier says he has mixed feelings about his last year at Tottenham – and probably knew his time was up months before the Champions League final.

The England right-back said he had heard that Spurs had offered him to other clubs in March 2019 and that he could not get a definitive answer to his future from then coach Mauricio Pochettino.

Trippier joined Atletico Madrid last summer and has strengthened under Diego Simeone, while Spurs Pochettino has been replaced by Jose Mourinho and qualification for the Champions League is in serious doubt.

He said the beautiful game Podcast: “I had mixed feelings throughout the season. Injuries played a big role (in my form). I told them I needed surgery.

“I could have been less selfish in terms of play. But I couldn’t help but be selected most of the games. I played some of them 60 or 70 percent. Maybe I should have taken a step back, but we had City in the Champions League, Ajax … you want to play in these games.

“In March, April, I heard from people I trust that they were trying to unload me and offer me clubs. So you get mixed messages. When I play, I do my best, but that’s why I moved the manager into the preseason and asked if I was part of his plans.

“I knocked on his door and told him I had a chance to go to Atletico Madrid, (but) if I’m part of your plans, I’ll stay. He didn’t give me a yes or no. So, as a player, you think ‘okay, no problem.’ I went to the chairman and said exactly the same thing.

“I haven’t really spoken to (Pochettino) since I left Tottenham. I have a lot to thank him for. I’ve never talked him down badly. I just said how it was.”

When Spurs fought for an unlikely place in the Champions League final and lost to Liverpool, their Premier League form suffered from only winning three of their last 12 games of the season and finishing fourth with a single point.

Trippier believes the sale of midfielder Mousa Dembele to China in January had a tremendous impact.

“For me personally, when I sell Mousa Dembele … you can ask anyone who played with him that he’s the best player I’ve ever played with. You can’t replace him,” he said.

“We sold it in January. I personally feel that if we kept it for five more months we would have done a lot better. I think we would have won the final.”