Former
Spain midfielder on success at Valencia with Claudio Ranieri, lockdown DJing and the ups and downs at Boro
It feels a little strange to start at the end with Gaizka Mendieta, but this is one that still smarts. The Spaniard, who was twice named the best midfielder in Europe by Uefa and captained Valencia to two unlikely
Champions League finals, finished his career at Middlesbrough in less celebrated circumstances, as a knee injury and a falling out with Gareth Southgate dominated his final playing days.
“I did not see Southgate becoming
England manager at all but now that he is, he’s a perfect fit,” says Mendieta. “We had a good relationship at Middlesbrough as teammates but when he became manager he still wanted to be a friend, a mate. But he wasn’t honest. Rather than just say, ‘We don’t want you here, find yourself another club’, he would keep telling me I was needed. We both knew it was not true; why did he tell me those things? He felt pressure from the board but later told me he would have done it differently.”