Resurgent Tottenham midfielder Moussa Sissoko has admitted he considered leaving the club at the end of last season and explained how Mauricio Pochettino convinced him to stay.
Sissoko did not make a significant contribution last term after joining from Newcastle for £30million and he was dropped from the France squad in March, throwing his club future into further doubt ahead of next summer’s World Cup.
The 28-year-old has improved greatly this season, featuring in every Premier League match so far and scoring his first goal for the club in Saturday’s 4-0 win at Huddersfield.
Sissoko has revealed that Pochettino persuaded him not to leave during the club’s post-season trip to Hong Kong at the end of May and says he made the right decision.
“I thought about it at the end of last season with my agent and we decided that the best thing was to stay here with a year until the World Cup, even though I didn’t play too much last season,” Sissoko said.
“I’m not the first nor the last player to have a difficult first season at a new club and we thought everything was in place for me to flourish at Tottenham. Today, I tell myself, of course, that it was the right choice.
“My relationship with Pochettino is the simple one between coach and player. He talks to me to explain things on the pitch, to explain how to play. Sometimes there are discussions about things outside of football. We have quite a simple interaction, like with most of the players. The small discussion took place at the end of last season during a tournament in Hong Kong.
“I wanted to know more about my future and about how things would go in the new season. We had a talk, everything was clear for me and for him. After that, we made the choice to stay at Tottenham.”
Sissoko opened his Spurs account at the John Smith’s Stadium with a close-range, deflected finish on his 44th appearance for the club and his relief was mingled with pride at proving his doubters wrong.
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“I felt relief, a release. It was a moment of enormous joy, because I’d been waiting for that goal for a while,” Sissoko added, in an interview with FootMercato. “It’s also linked to a difficult last season. However, I never give up. People often say that you learn most in difficult periods.
“Those difficult times allowed me to ask myself the right questions, think about it, work even more and bounce back. Today, things have turned around.
“You’re always proud when you manage to contradict the things that have been said about you.”
Sissoko’s form has earned him a recall to the France squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Belarus over the next week, and he added: “I’ve been rewarded for my work, my efforts and my desire not to give up on anything.
“The national team coach has always been clear about the fact that players must have a minimum of playing time and play well to be called up.
“I’m back and I’m happy to be so. It’s up to me to take advantage, enjoy it with my team-mates and to contribute to qualifying for the World Cup by playing well.”