Kieran Tripper has revealed what he told Matt Doherty after of the defender was released by Tottenham. Spurs terminated the Irishman's contract on January transfer deadline day in order to comply with FIFA rules regarding loan deals.
In a dramatic turn of events, Doherty joined Atletico Madrid on a six-month contract despite having been linked with a loan move the to Spanish capital earlier in the window. Clubs are only allowed to send eight players out on loan in a season.
Had the 31-year-old joined Diego Simeone's side on a temporary deal then he would have exceeded the maximum number of players permitted to leave on loan. Bryan Gil joined Sevilla last month, joining Tanguy Ndombele, Harry Winks, Djed Spence, Sergio Reguilon, Gio Lo Celso, Destiny Udogie and Joe Rodon on loan at a foreign club.
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An official Spurs statement read: "We have mutually agreed to the termination of Matt Doherty’s contract to enable him to join another club.
"Signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers in August, 2020, the Republic of Ireland international made 71 appearances for us in all competitions, scoring three goals. We should like to thank Matt for his service and wish him well for the future."
Antonio Conte has a wealth of options at right-back now, with Pedro Porro providing Emerson Royal some healthy competition, so Doherty would have struggled for game time. Ahead of his move to Atletico, Trippier offered the Irishman some advice.
The England international left Tottenham to join the Spanish giants in June 2019 before returning to the Premier League in January 2022 to join Newcastle. Speaking on Rio Ferdinand's podcast, FIVE, Trippier said: "I spoke to Doherty as well.
"About how much he’ll enjoy his defending and the whole city and stuff, to give him an insight and help him. That’s important that he has got someone to lean on, it’s not easy going abroad and going out of your comfort zone but it was an unbelievable experience and something I’ll look back on forever."
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