EX-ARSENAL star Bernd Leno has admitted he was shocked when the club sold him to Fulham for a £17million loss.
The goalkeeper had spent four seasons at the Gunners before director of football Edu offloaded him on the cheap.
Leno signed for Arsenal from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of around £20m in 2018.
But he left to join Fulham for just £3m before the start of this season, signing a three-year contract with the deal potentially rising to £8m if certain clauses are met.
Leno told the Evening Standard that he was shocked by Edu’s business, saying: “I have to say it’s a bargain.
“It’s very, very cheap, especially in the Premier League. I am not £3m, I’m probably worth a little bit more. Otherwise I would be a very bad player.”
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Despite this, the German insists there is no resentment towards his former club or by the fact he had to spend a year on the bench as back-up to Aaron Ramsdale.
Leno explained: “I don’t have toxic or bad energy for Arsenal.
“It didn’t end in the perfect way, but my reception at the Emirates was really good. I get fans coming up to me saying, ‘thank you for your four years… you were very good’.
“I was really happy with my performances. Even when they dropped me, I did nothing wrong. I came through the front door and I left through the front door. I still have a connection to the club.”
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The 31-year-old has impressed under Marco Silva, helping the club fight for a European place in their first term back in the top-flight following promotion.
Leno said on his transfer: “It was clear for me, I wanted to stay in the Premier League. It’s the best league in the world by far — and London life, I really love it here.
“I spoke to people at Arsenal about wanting to join Fulham. Everyone said it’s a nice family club. And I played many times against Fulham and it is an old-school stadium. All these aspects played a role.
“At the beginning, the main goal was to stay in the Premier League. We are in the quarter-final of the FA Cup, we’re seventh in the league, no one saw that coming.”
Leno insists him and another new signings that have wowed like Joao Palhinha and Manor Solomon have only added to a team that already had a good spine.
The keeper is hoping to force his way back into the Germany squad after missing out on the World Cup, having earned nine caps in his career.
He is also predicting that Arsenal will win the title, saying: “I hope they do it, I think they can.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
