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Former Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas has revealed that he rejected chairman Daniel Levy’s plan to make him leave after one season in charge.

The Portuguese manager moved to Spurs in 2012 after getting the sack from Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. Villas-Boas only completed a full campaign at Stamford Bridge, but he did not fare much better across London. Indeed, he left Spurs after a season and a half, in December 2013.

His departure came despite leading Tottenham to a fifth-placed Premier League finish in 2012/13.

Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela arrived in the subsequent summer transfer window, but a 5-0 defeat to Liverpool at White Hart Lane put paid to Villas-Boas’ stay.

According to the manager himself, though, Levy tried to get him out of the club in the summer of 2013.

The 43-year-old, who is currently out of work after leaving Marseille in February, told The Athletic: “In the year when I reached an agreement to leave Tottenham, we started with a disagreement.

“I understood Tottenham wanted me to go to Paris. I had an offer from Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the [2012-13] season.

“But I said, ‘No’. My clause for leaving Tottenham, which Levy was negotiating with Paris, was £15 million. Chelsea had paid €15 million for me and in Tottenham it was £15 million. And Levy was of course negotiating this.”

However, Villas-Boas stayed put and led Spurs into the 2013/14 campaign.

After a solid enough start, four games without a win – and three without a goal – against Everton, Newcastle, Manchester City and Manchester United ramped up the pressure on him.

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City defeated Spurs 6-0 in that sequence but it was the 5-0 defeat to Liverpool on home turf later on which led Villas-Boas to leave.

The manager insisted, though, that he felt that the results were not the major reason for his downfall.

Villas-Boas regrets Levy breakdown

“So I didn’t have the best of relationships with Daniel,” Villas-Boas added. “We were correct throughout but we were not in love with each other and I think they wanted me to accept the offer.

“But I wanted to stay. I had a great time in London. The team was good. I didn’t feel at that time that Paris was what I wanted for my career so I decided to risk on that one more year and for me I take things a lot personally.

“I have a different vision of football and, for me, whenever somebody declines something that’s normally better — be it contract wise or the possibility of you winning — for me, you are entitled to a contract renewal.

“That’s how I see things. It wasn’t the case. And that led to a bad, bad animosity between us. To the point where it was December and there were no conditions for us to continue working and we reached an agreement to leave.

“Although we lost heavily to Liverpool, we were on more points than the season we beat the points record. But the environment wasn’t there and it was best for both parties.”

READ MORE: Tottenham in talks for versatile defender wanted by Newcastle, Everton

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