‘You didn’t deserve this!’ - Tottenham fans fume over as stalwart released

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 23 May 2023 09:09 CDT
• 5 min read

Matt Doherty’s move from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid has not gone down well among Spurs fans – not necessarily because he has left the club, but because of the way in which the deal was conducted.

Doherty joined Spurs in 2020 from Wolves, and though he made fewer than 50 Premier League appearances for the club, was a respected figure with the London side.

The 31-year-old right-back, though, was released by Spurs before completing his transfer to Atletico Madrid and that has left a sour taste in the mouths of many fans.

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A note on the club’s social media pages read: “We have mutually agreed to the termination of Matt Doherty’s contract to enable him to join another club.

“Thank you for everything, Doc.”

It was a message that fans took exception to, with many feeling that there were other players in the club who should have gone before him.

Indeed, many expressed disbelief at the decision.

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It should be noted that one of the reasons that Spurs were forced to release Doherty was that they had hit their limit of eight outbound players being sent on loan, so there was no possibility of such a deal being struck with Atletico Madrid.

Doherty, meanwhile, is replaced at Tottenham by Pedro Porro, who has arrived from Sporting CP on loan for €5 million, plus a €42.5m obligation to buy.