Tony Xia says Jordan Veretout’s claims about Aston Villa are ‘nonsense’.
Aston Villa owner Tony Xia has taken to Twitter to respond angrily to Jordan Veretout’s claims about the club and his absence from games last season.
Midfielder Veretout joined Villa from Nantes in his native France during the summer transfer window of 2015, but failed to really live up to his billing.
On Tuesday, Veretout told France Football, as quoted by Sport Witness, that he felt Villa didn’t play him towards the end of last season to avoid paying a bonus to Nantes.
Tony Xia
“They told me they didn’t do it on purpose, but when you are a sub, there’s only one midfielder on the bench – me – and a midfielder on the pitch gets injured and they bring on a forward, you can only question the decision,” said Veretout.
Given that Veretout played 29 games for Villa, many assume that Villa would have been forced to pay Nantes a set fee agreed in the initial deal – and to avoid paying that, Villa left him out of their side and prevented him from making it to appearance number 30.
Liverpool’s James Milner in action with Aston Villa’s Jordan Veretout
Veretout is now back in France having been sent out on loan at Saint-Etienne for the duration of the season, and few expect him to ever return to Villa Park
This afternoon, Villa owner Tony Xia took to Twitter to offer his response to Veretout’s claims – and it’s far to say he isn’t too happy about the Frenchman’s comments.
Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia
Xia stated that, whilst Veretout’s deal was negotiated under a different regime, he doesn’t think that any previous manager would care about a potential bonus being paid out by the club.
Xia added that Veretout’s claims are ‘nonsense’, adding weight to the belief that the 23-year-old won’t be returning to Villa Park at the end of the season.
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