Jermain Defoe admitted that he regrets the manner in which he handed in a transfer request at West Ham in 2003, when speaking exclusively to Sky Sports, and some Hammers fans took to Twitter in reaction to their former striker’s comments.
Defoe, now 37, scored 45 goals in 105 matches for West Ham.
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And he hasn’t slowed down one bit 17 years later.
The former Hammers hitman has bagged 25 goals in 52 games for Glasgow giants Rangers. Steven Gerrard brought the experienced ace to Ibrox on an 18-month loan deal in January 2019.
West Ham poached the striker from Charlton in 1999, and he was an instant hit in east London.
But things turned sour four years later, when Defoe handed in a transfer request on the day that the Hammers were relegated from the Premier League.
He has never been forgiven by West Ham fans and has always received a hostile welcome when returning to either Upton Park or the London Stadium.
The 37-year-old admitted that he regrets doing what he did all those years ago, however, when speaking to Sky Sports:
“I felt like I was betraying a family member. These people had given me an opportunity, and then years later I’m going in and handing in a transfer request saying, ‘I don’t want to be here, I want to leave’. I made a big mistake. When I look back at it now, I think I was maybe naïve at the time . If I saw someone do that now I’d be like, ‘Wow, that’s strange, you shouldn’t do that’.”
And some West Ham fans have taken to Twitter in reaction to their former player’s comments…
And the tweets kept coming…
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