An African star, who captains his country, has discussed the difficulties he had under Jose Mourinho at Tottenham Hotspur that eventually led to his exit from the club.
Kenya skipper Victor Wanyama joined the Lilywhites from Southampton in 2016, and represented the London club on 97 occasions, which is as many appearances he had made for the Saints in the three years prior.
Having battled for game time at Spurs under Mourinho, the midfielder then joined Montreal Impact from the Premier League side in March last year following a phone call from Thierry Henry.
The 29-year-old has now revealed that he went to the Portuguese tactician with his concerns about playing more, but was told to remain patient, and eventually spoke directly with club chairman Daniel Levy to find a solution.
"Life was tough under Mourinho. I was not playing," Wanyama told Kenyan TV.
"I was injured for some time, and when I came back, I could not get a chance to play. I went to see the coach (Mourinho), and told him I needed to play.
"He said: 'You have to wait, you are just coming back from injury'. Clubs came in for me and asked to take me on loan with an obligation to buy after some time, but Tottenham said no.
"I went to the chairman's office and told him to understand my situation. I had been at the club for four years, and we had celebrated milestones, including the Champions League final.
"He granted me my wish to leave."
