With Jose Mourinho reportedly having a huge argument with Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Lewy ahead of his sacking this week, what the duo clashed over has now seemingly been revealed.
The 58-year-old was dismissed by Spurs on Monday, just six days before the team's appearance in the Carabao Cup final and a chance at his first piece of silverware for the club.
While it was initially thought his dismissal had something to do with the Lilywhites' participation in the European Super League – which has since been rescinded – it was later stated that Levy was unhappy with Spurs' performances on the pitch and how Mourinho handled his players.
Complaints from team leaders Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris were said to be the final straw for Levy ahead of the action taken.
Journalist Duncan Castles has now claimed that the Lilywhites chairman and Mourinho had one final argument that led to the manager's sudden departure.
"The information I have from people close to Mourinho is that ahead of that game he had talked to Daniel Levy and he explained that he intended to rest two or three of his most-used players for the Premier League game against Southampton (on Wednesday night) in order to get his team in the best possible position for the League Cup final," Castles explained on The Transfer Window podcast.
"My information is that Levy told him, 'No, I want you to play your best team against Southampton, because league position is more important than winning that cup'.
"People close to Mourinho believe that this was a form of provocation from Levy that he had decided he was going to change manager.
"People close to Mourinho believe that if he hadn't said that, Levy would have used something else to provoke him and manufacture this dismissal. The decision had been made."
