London – Tottenham have hit back at Andre Villas-Boas by accusing their former manager of rewriting history after he claimed the Premier League club reneged on promises over transfers.
Villas-Boas was sacked by Spurs a year ago following a difficult 18 months at White Hart Lane.
The Portuguese coach has since taken charge at Russian outfit Zenit St Petersburg, but the manner of his departure from Spurs still rankles, leading him to air his grievances in an interview with TVI.
The 37-year-old says Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy broke promises in relation to transfers both in and out of the north London club.
“The chairman proposed a challenge to increase Tottenham's competitive level, but immediately (Luka) Modric left and we didn't get any of the targets I had identified, such as Joao Moutinho, Willian, Oscar or Leandro Damiao,” Villas-Boas said.
“These were promises that were not kept. I had a group of players I had not chosen.
“In two years I lost (Rafael) van der Vaart, Modric, (Gareth) Bale, and all the promises made were unfulfilled.
“In any event I don't look at my time at Tottenham as a negative experience. It was an experience I needed to have.”
Those comments have not sat well with Tottenham, with the club swiftly slamming Villas-Boas' claims.
“It's unfortunate that Andre has felt the need to pass comments like these,” a Spurs spokesperson said.
“Not only has he attempted to rewrite history, he has clearly forgotten the facts.”
Villas-Boas' claim that Modric's move to Real Madrid came as a shock are understood to have irked Tottenham, as has the way he portrayed Van der Vaart's return to Hamburg.
The Portugese is believed to have been key in the Netherlands international's departure, while the club deemed many of his targets as unrealistic acquisitions. – Sapa-AFP