Saido Berahino blames “selfish” West Brom owner for ruining his career and rejecting Tottenham bids

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Saido Berahino says it has taken him years to recover from West Bromwich Albion’s refusal to sanction his move to Tottenham Hotspur in 2015.

Saido Berahino

The striker was a wanted man after scoring 20 goals in all competitions for the Baggies in 2014/15 and Spurs soon came knocking.

However, West Brom rejected four bids for Berahino after turning down the player’s transfer request.

“That’s when the misery started,” he said, as reported by Sport Witness.

“As a player you want to go to the top and that was Tottenham. But the owner of West Brom wanted to sell the club.

“And I – two times the team’s top scorer, young international, twice Young Player of The Year – was the most valuable asset of West Brom. That’s why he didn’t let me go. If he sold me, he couldn't sell the club for so much money.

“I didn’t understand that and couldn’t handle it. It was a selfish decision. I took it personally.

“I can now give lay it to rest, but that took me years. I blamed others. It killed me.”

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Alasdair Mackenzie

Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.