The Saints boss at the time, Mark Hughes, sanctioned Dusan Tadic’s departure from St Mary’s Stadium in summer 2018.
A number of fans have been commenting on Twitter about how Dusan Tadic – who was offloaded by Southampton in 2018 – has sensationally made the Ballon D’Or shortlist.
The 30-year-old enjoyed four years at St Mary’s Stadium, making 162 appearances, scoring 24 goals and claiming 35 assists (Transfermarkt) after becoming Ronald Koeman’s first signing in 2014.
In Tadic’s final year at Southampton, he was part of a side fighting to stay in the Premier League before being allowed to leave St. Mary’s for a mere £10million (rising to £11.4million as reported by BBC Sport) under Mark Hughes’ watch.
Since then, the Serbia international has become captain of a resurgent Ajax team that won the Eredivisie and the KNVB Cup last season as well as being seconds from reaching the Champions League final.
Tadic’s efforts have seen him nominated for the 2019 Ballon D’Or, ahead of Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil forward Neymar, Manchester United and France midfielder Paul Pogba and Tottenham Hotspur and England striker Harry Kane.
It marks a remarkable rise over a short space of time for a player effectively jettisoned from Southampton and numerous fans gave their thoughts on Twitter:
The Ballon d’Or winner will be named in Paris on 2 December.
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