Sol Bamba has left Championship club Leeds United.
Sol Bamba has revealed to The Yorkshire Evening Post that he had to make a decision on his future at Leeds United after the match against Nottingham Forest.
Leeds took on Forest away from home at the City Ground in the Championship just before the international break.
The West Yorkshire outfit suffered a 3-1 defeat to the Reds and are now just a place above the relegation zone in the league table.
Bamba, who was the Leeds captain at the time, did not feature in the match against Forest.
In fact, the 31-year-old Ivory Coast international defender was not even part of the Whites’ matchday squad.
The former Leicester City centre-back has revealed that after getting dropped from the match against Forest at the City Ground, he decided to speak to Leeds head coach Garry Monk.
“I never went knocking on his door or asking questions,” Bamba told The Yorkshire Evening Post. “I never took my place for granted, even as captain. To me the captaincy isn’t a guarantee of playing.
“If a manager doesn’t think I deserve to be in the team then I always respect that opinion. It’s fine.
“But I can’t lie – I thought Forest was a wake-up call for me. I thought it was the manager saying ‘if you don’t play better you’ll be out of the squad’.
“After that game he spoke to me and he was very honest. He said it would be best if I moved on. There and then it was a surprise. It wasn’t what I expected when the season started.”
Bamba left Leeds on September 1 by mutual consent due to personal reasons, as announced on the Championship club’s official website.
The defender, who was under contract at Elland Road until next summer, is now looking for a new club.
Leeds will return to action on Saturday afternoon when they take on Huddersfield Town at Elland Road in the Championship.
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