Kieran Trippier has delivered an honest verdict on his time at Tottenham, including what Daniel Levy did before he left the club.
Trippier made more than 100 appearances for Spurs, scoring two goals and registering four assists, before moving to Atletico Madrid, where he had been since. The defender has now made the move back to the Premier League, after signing for Newcastle this month, on a two and a half year contract.
Trippier has played 90 minutes in two league games and the FA Cup tie at his new club this season, and already seems to be settling back in to living in England.
In an interview with The Atheltic, the 31-year-old looked back at his time in north London.
"If you look back to the last few months of my Tottenham career, I admit that I wasn’t at the levels that I was at the [2018] World Cup and there’s no excuse for that," he admitted. "As a footballer, you’re trying to do your best and sometimes things don’t go your way. It just wasn’t happening, but I was still getting picked by Mauricio Pochettino."
Trippier was part of the side that lost in the Champions League final in 2019, which was just before his move away from N17.
"After the Champions League final, it felt like the right time to move on," he said. "The media weren’t really on my side at the time and maybe I needed to get out of England for a bit just to clear my mind. I never looked back."
Ahead of the defender's move to Spain, he opened up about the end of his Tottenham career and how Daniel Levy played a role in his departure.
"What annoyed me… as you know, people in football speak and there are always rumours, but I know 100 per cent for a fact – and this is what I was most angry about – that two months before the end of the season, Daniel [Levy] was offering me to other clubs," he admitted.
"I knew for certain that was happening, so I knew my time there must be up. I was playing for my team-mates and the supporters, but I also knew I wasn’t wanted."
Whilst Trippier settles into life in Newcastle, he will have to wait until April to come up against his former side in the Premier League. Tottenham are currently seventh in the table, two points off the top four and with two games in hand.
The Lilywhites have gone nearly 14 years without winning any silverware, years before Trippier was playing in N17, but he admitted why he thinks Spurs have struggled in recent times.
"For me, the big one was selling Mousa Dembele that January," the defender said. "I think I can speak on behalf of the players who were there. In the dressing room, he was an unbelievable person and all the lads loved him, but on the pitch he was the kind of player who would make a couple of per cent difference.
"That’s what wins you things."
Dembele was a player liked by players and fans, making a creative impact in the middle of the field and many ex-Tottenham players say he was one of the best they have played alongside.
"It baffled me that they would sell him," Trippier added. "I know he was going to be a free in the summer but with the things we were challenging for, I would have kept him there and then let him go.
"He was the difference between winning a trophy or not."
