Giovani dos Santos says he became frustrated during his time at Tottenham having turned down offers from Man City and Chelsea.
I remember them singing 'When the Spurs go marching in'. Great fans - I had time to watch them because I didn't play!
The Mexico international swapped Barcelona for White Hart Lane in 2008 after being persuaded to leave Camp Nou by then Spurs head coach Juande Ramos.
However, less than three months of the 2008/09 season had elapsed when bottom-of-the-table Spurs sacked Ramos, and Dos Santos’ opportunities in the Tottenham first team soon diminished.
Having made nine appearances under Ramos, Dos Santos featured just three times for new boss Harry Redknapp before being shipped out on loan to Ipswich.
Further loans to Galatasaray and Racing Santander preceded a permanent switch to Mallorca in 2012, departing Tottenham with just two league starts and 15 substitute appearances to his name.
Now 25 and enjoying a successful spell with Villarreal – netting 11 goals in 39 La Liga games – Dos Santos says he still holds Spurs fans close to his heart even though things didn’t pan out how he planned in north London.
Speaking exclusively in the January 2015 issue of FourFourTwo he says: "I had offers from Manchester [City] and Chelsea. But when Ramos called and explained I'd be a regular at Tottenham, I liked the idea of playing English football.
"He was replaced by Redknapp. It was very frustrating for me because, like every footballer, I just wanted to play. I'd prepare for a game every three days… then not play. I really wanted to do well, and the fans were supportive.
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I had offers from Man City and Chelsea. But Ramos called and explained I'd be a regular at Tottenham
"I remember them singing 'When the Spurs go marching in'. Great fans - I had time to watch them because I didn't play!
"I liked London, too, and my home in Chigwell. Not the weather, though. It got dark at 4pm and it was always cold, cloudy and raining."
Read the full interview with Giovani dos Santos in the January 2015 issue of FourFourTwo, available in shops and on iPad now. The magazine hails the Men of the Year, hears from Thomas Muller, Philipp Lahm and Manuel Neuer about Germany's World Cup triumph and listens to Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez narrate the images that defined their years. Plus, FFT gets the inside story on Sierra Leone footballers who must deal with paranoid teams and abusive fans as the Ebola disease sweeps the country, and recalls the days of the 'disco train' when British Rail's Football Specials became vehicles for violence in the '60s. Subscribe!
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Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.
