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Ryan Bertrand cemented himself as a Southampton legend during his seven-year stay at the club, which ended after the ‘biggest bust-up of his career’.
Southampton are preparing for life back in the Championship after suffering relegation from the Premier League last season.
Southampton appointed Will Still earlier this summer, and have been tipped as promotion contenders in our early 2025/26 Championship predictions.
Ahead of the Championship campaign, former Southampton star Ryan Bertrand has revealed why the biggest fallout of his 16-year career came with former Saints boss Ralph Hasenhüttl before he joined Leicester City in 2021.
Ryan Bertrand reveals Southampton fallout with Ralph Hasenhüttl
19-capped England international Bertrand featured 240 times for Southampton, from July 2014 until June 2021, before his shock exit for Leicester.
The departure of the St Mary’s legend was a bitter pill to swallow for the Southampton faithful, and now Bertrand has lifted the lid on his fallout with former boss Hasenhüttl which prompted him to exit.
When quizzed about the “biggest bust-up” of his career, Bertrand told the Business of Sport podcast: “It was probably Ralph Hasenhüttl for Southampton at the start. At the start when he come in, he come in fully egotistical.
“There was one game and I think we was losing or something. And then he took me off. I said, I don’t know why you took me off. Can you explain it? It was a bit hostile.
“And then after that, we just never spoke. He was playing people like Moussa Djanepo left-back, playing Kevin Danso left-back, anything to kind of provoke a reaction out of me.
“I spoke to one of the directors. I said, what’s he said to you? He said he wasn’t happy with that moment, and now it’s just like a Mexican standoff.
“I was laughing, Mexican standoff? Let’s just have another chat and fix it.
“He never wanted to communicate and wanted to push his way. Actually, towards the end, he went full circle, trying to be people’s best mate,
“I just thought he wasn’t worth my time because that moment at the start, he was very disrespectful. He was killing my game at Southampton.
“From the early days of the respect was a one-way street with him, and then coming back, and then killing my game, and then needed me to stay, why would I stay?”.
Unfortunately for the former Saints boss, Bertrand had the last laugh following his exit for Leicester in 2021.
Southampton sacked Ralph Hasenhüttl one season after Ryan Bertrand exit
Leicester signed Bertrand on a free transfer from Southampton in the summer of 2021, who finished fifth in the Premier League under Brendan Rodgers during the season before his arrival.
After just 11 appearances for Leicester, Bertrand left the Foxes in the summer of 2023 and announced his retirement one year later.
| Southampton statistic | Ryan Bertrand |
| Games played | 240 |
| Goals | 8 |
| Assists | 16 |
Hasenhüttl remained as Southampton manager after Bertrand’s move, finishing 15th in the 2020/21 campaign despite suffering a 9-0 defeat to Manchester United in February.
The following season, Hasenhüttl was sacked in November with Southampton in the relegation zone, after picking up just 12 points from the opening 14 games.
Despite Hasenhüttl making a significant contribution during his time at St Mary’s, the Southampton faithful will hold the former Chelsea defender in much higher esteem than his former head coach.