Tottenham Hotspur decided to terminate the contract of Matt Doherty on deadline day and the player ended up joining Spanish club Atletico Madrid on a free transfer.
Now a report from Football London claims that the defender’s Tottenham teammates were shocked by the club’s decision on Tuesday when they found out that he was leaving the club permanently.
The 31-year-old had fallen down the pecking order at the London club following the arrival of the Sporting CP defender Pedro Porro.
The 23-year-old Spaniard completed his move to Tottenham on deadline day and he is expected to be the first choice right back at the club.
However, nobody expected Doherty’s contract to be terminated. The Republic of Ireland defender was expected to head out on loan but the FIFA regulations forced Tottenham to consider other options.
Apparently Spurs already have the maximum number of players out on international loan as per the FIFA regulations and Doherty could have only left the club on a permanent transfer.
However, the Londoners could not find a suitor for the defender and they had to terminate his contract.
While the decision has led to a financial loss for the club, it could end up proving beneficial for the defender.
Doherty has not been a regular starter for Tottenham and he will be hoping to get his career back on track with regular football in Spain now.
The £65k-a-week ace is still good enough to play at the highest level and it remains to be seen whether he can make an immediate impact in the Spanish capital.
