Leeds United’s Mateo Joseph effectively went on strike to force a move away from Elland Road and his wish was fulfilled when the English club let him join RCD Mallorca on a dry loan deal in the summer window.
Real Betis chased him earlier in the window and their failure to agree terms with the Whites allowed Mallorca to quickly swoop in to sign the 21-year-old. Last month, he said the chat with Mallorca manager Jagoba Arrasate convinced him to join his side.
The Leeds owned player was part of the Spain U21 squad for this international break and has been speaking to their media.
Earlier this week, he explained reasons why he left Leeds and said the English city wasn’t the “prettiest place”. Joseph has now been dragged into the saga between Dani Rodríguez and the La Liga club, and Estadio Deportivo have relayed his comments.
The striker played three games for the Spanish club, and his last outing was in their 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid at home. Rodríguez was an unused substitute and took to social networking site to publicly criticise Arrasate.
Mallorca were unhappy with his comments, suspending and fining him, and Joseph has now publicly supported the club in the saga between them and Rodríguez.
“It’s not a pleasant situation at all. Why am I going to lie to you? It’s true that the manager and the club have made a decision, and in the end, Jagoba Arrasate is the one who bears full responsibility for the group, and that decision must be respected,” he said.
“We are all one team, and we are all moving in that direction. We are aware that these situations can happen, even if they are unpleasant, but the club and the manager have already made a decision, and we must stick to it.”