Jose Mourinho did not want Tottenham to sign Gareth Bale on loan last summer, according to reports.
The Portuguese was sacked as Spurs manager on Monday after 17 months at the helm.
Mourinho led Tottenham to the top of the Premier League table earlier this season, but they have fallen away in 2021.
A 2-2 draw with Everton last time out leaves the north London outfit five points adrift of the Champions League qualification places.
Tottenham will face Manchester City in the League Cup final on Sunday, but Mourinho will no longer have the chance to win the club’s first piece of silverware since 2008.
Ryan Mason and Chris Powell have taken charge of the first team on a temporary basis, with Daniel Levy reportedly seeking to make a permanent appointment before the end of the season.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Levy made up his mind to sack Mourinho on the way home from Goodison Park after the aforementioned draw on Friday night.
The club chairman was concerned that seventh-placed Spurs would miss out on European football altogether if Mourinho took charge of the remaining six games of the season.
The 58-year-old had lost the support of key figures within the dressing room, with Dele Alli, Danny Rose, Serge Aurier and Bale among the players he has clashed with during a year and a half in the hot seat.
And the report states that Mourinho was against Bale’s return to north London from the very start.
The decision to sign the Wales international on loan from Real Madrid was made by Levy, with Mourinho unconvinced.
Bale has been a bit-part player for most of the campaign, starting only six matches in the Premier League.
The forward said last month that he expects to return to Madrid next term, but the dismissal of Mourinho could increase the chances of Tottenham keeping hold of him.
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