Romain Saiss has been speaking about his summer exit from Wolves, in a fascinating interview with Talking Wolves.
The defender departed Molineux after six seasons at the club, after failing to reach an agreement with officials over a new deal.
Saiss left as a free agent, and then Turkish giants Besiktas snapped him up.
Saiss had enjoyed a very good first half of 2021/22, featuring in a back three with Conor Coady and Maximilian Kilman.
The trio were solid, and helped Wolves to become one of the best defensive outfits in all of Europe.
But in the second half of the season, Wanderers lost form and Saiss’ own level did dip after he came back from AFCON.
Saiss wanted to stay at Wolves, and Bruno Lage was also keen for him to extend his stay.
But the Morocco international has revealed the board’s offer to him was actually disrespectful.
The straight-talking star said: “When I got the offer from the club, I just feel like it was a ******* disrespect. From what the coach told me to what they wanted to give me… it was just disrespectful for me. And I’m not talk about numbers, I’m not talking about money.
“I played so many positions in this club. I was there for six years. I think I achieved some good things with this club. So I was expecting more respect from them.
“But when you come and give me only a one-year contract. For me I said ‘OK I understand’.
He also suggested he felt as though Wolves only made him an offer to say they did. Knowing that he would reject the offer, but at least they could turn around and say they tried to keep him.
Saiss went on to talk about how he loved everyone working at the club, and how good they made him feel during his time at Molineux.
But he was very critical of the board, and also suggested that Wolves don’t actually have a sporting director.
“I think we are the only club in the world without one, he added. “And we are talking about a club in the Premier League. It’s not normal. It’s the job of this person to get players, to speak with agents, to have a good relationship with the coach in terms of recruitment. Since Kevin Thelwell left the club, we don’t have anyone.”
Revealing Romain Saiss interview provides worrying insight about Wolves behind the scenes
It is really interesting to hear Saiss talk about his exit from Wolves.
He clearly feels that the way it was handled by the board was poor. And given some other decisions that have been made recently, it’s hard to dispute anything Saiss says.
Lage wanted Saiss to stay at the club as he understood his value as an experienced Premier League player.
It seems the biggest issue he had was that the offer he got was only for one more year.
Arguably, he did enough to warrant two more years.
And Wolves probably do now miss his leadership.