Chelsea are “furious” with former goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after he publicly criticised club director Marina Granovskaia.
The Belgium No 1 claims Granovskaia went back on a promise to sell him after the 2018 World Cup.
Subsequently, Courtois refused to train with Chelsea before sealing a £35million move to Real Madrid on transfer deadline day last summer.
Speaking Belgian outlet HLN: “That Marina is hard at negotiation is normal.
“The people in football who are talking about contracts, salaries, transfers, that get players and dispose of them – they have the most difficult job.
“In March, Marina and I had a meeting in which I indicated that I wanted to leave.
“Living in London and the schedule of the Premier League made it impossible for me to regularly see my children, who live in Madrid.
“‘Are you going to find something?’ she replied. I told her, ‘Don’t worry’. ‘That’s good,’ she said. ‘We’ll let you go and we will find a replacement’.
“After the World Cup, a departure was suddenly not that obvious anymore.
“The possible replacements were too expensive. That was not the agreement.”
However, it’s been reported that Granovskaia did not make any promises to Courtois about allowing him to leave Stamford Bridge.
And Chelsea chiefs are believed to be angry by the 26-year-old’s claims.
Courtois spent three seasons with Atletico Madrid before joining the Blues in 2014.
He became a mainstay between the sticks in west London, winning two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a League Cup.