Jermain Defoe has revealed to Sky Sports how a conversation with Daniel Levy convinced him to join Toronto FC upon leaving Tottenham.
The Spurs chairman did not want the striker joining another Premier League club when he departed White Hart Lane for the second time in 2014, so he sold Defoe a fantasy story of how the MLS was the place for him.
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Defoe lasted only 11 months in Canada before returning to England with Sunderland where he enjoyed arguably the second-best spell of his career.
via ytCropperDefoe may think that the pair spoke as friends but Levy only had his own interests in mind. At 31, the striker had lots left to offer the Premier League but Levy feared the backlash of Spurs selling him to a rival. The chairman set Toronto up as the middle man, so he could keep his hands clean.
I understand the business principle of Levy protecting the club but Defoe had earned the right to pick his move.
I thought he was having his 3rd best spell way up Norf and we should of bought him in January. Only for him to get injured
Show me a chairman or manager who does something to strengthen a direct rival and I’ll show you an idiot. Enter the sale of RVP to Utd from Arsenal. I don’t have much time for Levy, but Defoe didn’t have to go. I also doubt a top 4 club would have picked him up either. He’d have ended up at Everton or someone similar.
I’m no fan of Levy, but it seems a bit strong to criticise when he actually does something in the interests of the club rather than the player – didn’t exactly hold a gun to his head did he, IMO Defoe was a mug to go to a 3rd tier league when only just past his prime!
And people out there still think Levy is a cause for good