Moussa Sissoko received a lovely reception by Tottenham Hotspur fans on Sunday.
The France international quit Spurs to join Watford on Friday but returned to North London yesterday because as luck would have it, this was the Hornets’ first game.
Sissoko, who hadn’t been playing under Nuno Espirito Santo at Tottenham, lasted 71 minutes.
When he came off, the 32-year-old received a rapturous applause from the home supporters inside the Lilywhites’ £1 billion stadium.
Not only that, but Nuno and the Tottenham bench also stood up to acknowledge their former colleague when he left the field, as pointed out by Clinton Morrison.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “You can tell Moussa Sissoko is a well-liked guy, because Nuno Espirito Santo, the Spurs dugout, they were all up applauding him when he went off. He’s a good player, he wanted to be playing more football – so no animosity there. Brilliant.”
Legend?
Sissoko didn’t win anything during his time at Tottenham.
But the former Newcastle United winger did spend five years at the club following a £30 million move in 2016 nonetheless.
And despite a lack of trophies, his standing among Spurs fans might well indicate legendary status.
Sissoko had to work very hard to earn the fans’ affections because his first season at the club under Mauricio Pochettino was rather dreadful.
But the Frenchman constantly improved after the 2016-17 campaign and swiftly became one of Pochettino’s most important players.
He was particularly outstanding during the 2018-19 campaign, where he helped Tottenham to a Champions League final in the middle of the park.
And much of the warmth from the terraces on Sunday will have stemmed from that season.
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