Ben White has showed his sentiment for Marcelo Bielsa after the acclaimed manager was sacked by Leeds United.
The Arsenal defender was plucked from relative obscurity and given his breakthrough by Bielsa at Elland Road, going on to help the Peacocks return to the Premier League after 16-year absence in his one and only season.
White was playing his football Brighton & Hove Albion's reserves when Leeds took him on loan, and two years later would pocket the former £50million when Arsenal came calling.
Following Sunday morning's announcement that Bielsa has left Leeds, the 24-year-old posted a picture of his old teammates celebrating their promotion alongside the 66-year-old and captioned the Instagram story with a white love heart.
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White has previously described his year-long loan in Yorkshire as 'the time of his life', hailing Bielsa upon returning to Brighton in the summer of 2020.
"I learned so much from him. It was the detail in every aspect of the game that he put the work into," the England international said.
"His coaching was all about details, the minor details, things like how the ball spins when you pass it, how you're passing it, why you're passing it.
"I also want to thank the Leeds supporters, they were unbelievable every single week. Even when they weren't allowed to be there!
"They were very good to me, and were always really supportive to me and the rest of the team – the club will always be special to me."
Tributes have flooded in for Bielsa, with Peacocks full-back Junior Firpo tweeting: "It's been an honour working with you and all your staff. A real club legend. Thank you."
Midfielder Mateusz Klich played more games than anyone at Elland Road under the Argentine tactician and added: "Thank You Marcelo for everything."
Meanwhile, Leeds have confirmed that they are planning a tribute to Bielsa, with Andrea Radrizzani labelling it the "toughest decision" he has had to make as chairman.
"With Marcelo as our head coach, we had three incredible campaigns and the good times returned to Elland Road. He changed the culture of the club and brought a winning mentality to us all," Radrizzani said in an emotional club statement.
"The moments created, particularly in the 2019/20 season and winning promotion to the Premier League, will of course live long in all our memories, myself and the fans included.
"However, I have to act in the best interest of the club and I believe a change is required now in order to secure our Premier League status. Recent results and performances have not met our expectations."
Ex- RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg boss Jesse Marsch is the heavy favourite to take over, with club officially noting that they will "aim to announce" a replacement on Monday.
