Jose Fonte has said his goodbyes to Saints fans by putting up a farewell letter on Instagram.

The letter thanks for their fans on what has been a great journey since he arrived from Crystal Palace just over seven years ago and he cover the good and the bad.

Cyptically he states that he never "refused" to play and claimed that most of the speculation in the press lacked accuracy and saying that "we all know how the football business works."

It is that last part that leaves Saints fans in the dark, most do not know how it works or at least not underneath the public facade, the question is what Fonte means, he could be referring to the club with whom he is at odds or he could be referring to himself and that players ultimately move for money.

This is certainly not a letter that intimates that he wanted to stay and was pushed out, but it is not a letter that attempts to justify his actions either.

In short it is one that sets out to do what it should do, point out the good times and the journey we have been on with him and from that point he does deserve our respect, we should remember him for the 6 1/2 seasons he was a committed Saints player and not for this last sorry season.

He is right there has a lot been said and a lot of it may not be accurate, but the one thing that is true is that the situation was instigated by Fonte who felt that he could achieve better both on the pitch and off it financially by leaving the club, it is the letter of a wife to her husband after she has left for another lover.

But as Fonte himself says, we all know how the football business works, a dog may be for life and not just for Christmas, but a football player is not even for the lengh of his contract.

Farewell Jose Fonte, yes it has been a great journey, but it could have been a lot better and as one of your former managers liked to say "We are still on the bus"

The lettter in full is reproduced below

Dear Saints fans
A lot could be said,I could argue and disagree,I could go on all day but in the end what it really matters is the journey we have been together.

We have been to Wembley and won, achieved promotion after promotion,great premier league seasons with records broken,European football...and the list goes on!

Not for a moment I regret anything I did,because I have given my all every single day I have worn the Saints crest until the last second of my last training session!

I have never rejected to play in any circumstances!!A lot has been said about me and my situation, most of it lacked any accuracy but we all know how the football business works!
So now it's time to say THANK YOU!!!

To everyone without exception,even the ones who can't accept it and don't understand THANK YOU!!!

I will take every single one of you in my heart and all the great memories!

To all my team mates throughout the last 8 seasons thank you,for pushing me to be better,for inspiring me,for laughing with me for arguing with me and even fighting me 😂
I'm a better player because all of you made strive for greatness!

A mention to all my managers to in Pardew,Adkins,Pochetino,Koeman and Puel for teaching me a lot in different ways!

To all the staff at the club I hope I wasn't much of a pain and i treated you with respect!

Take care and we see each other out there soon.

José Fonte

Photo: Action Images

dixiefrog added 09:19 - Jan 22 "Now you're just somebody that I used to know" Jose you've moved on...so have the fans.
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perazi added 09:21 - Jan 22 Fair enough analysis Nick. I take Jose's message at face value - in contrast to other departees, Fonte conveys both respect and warmth towards the Club and supporters; and I liked his remarks about the laughter and the "fighting". It wasn't a good ending but in the modern game a career spanning nearly 7 seasons in pretty damn good. He should always be remembered as a significant Saints CB and leader.

7

the_saint added 09:38 - Jan 22 Always two sides to story but us as just mere fans will never find out the truth I for one wish him all the best we will miss u
5

A1079 added 09:55 - Jan 22 On face value it seems a fairly decent letter to write, accepting he may have had some advice in constructing it. Whatever the truth of the matter related to what has been going on in these last few months, I suspect we will never know and in essence does it even matter now. He has left. At least though, he has not damned or rubbish the club or supporters at any stage. Personally, as a fan, I will appreciate his time with us and value the contribution he has made. I wish him well.

1

highfield49 added 11:18 - Jan 22 Fair play Jose, I genuinely thought you were going to walk away and hide but, even if you had advice on how to phrase your message, you have gone up in my own estimation. Still none the wiser as to why you left because nothing indicates that there was a big enough rift with the club for you to submit a transfer request.
2

ExiledSupporter added 15:27 - Jan 22 A decent letter from a decent bloke and a good servant of the club. Both club and player have benefitted from his brave decision to step down a league to join us and he should always be remembered for that level of commitment which contributed greatly to our subsequent successes. And you could certainly say that at £8m we have recouped a good deal of his value and costs in the past. The key thing now is will we spend the money to either replace him on a like for like basis; or will we have more money to buy the higher quality striker that we so desperately need; or as I suspect will we do nothing in the last week, demonstrate our complacency and lose sight of the funds generated by his transfer and like so much of the other income from ‘operations’ including the TV money, will it all go into the black hole known as the owners’ wallets?

1

SaintBrock added 18:39 - Jan 22 "A decent letter from a decent bloke and a good servant of the club." Here, here to that! See you back here one day Jose on the coaching staff?
2

1teeminants added 19:41 - Jan 22 Us fans will never know the whole truth as to why he left . It's pure speculation and people shouldn't pretend they are in the know because they aren't but thanks for the memories Jose
1

zonehead added 21:08 - Jan 22 I was feeling cold and lonely as if my birds gone off with a London geezer "it's not you it's me" never mind I've just pulled a bird from Liecster feeling a bit better now
0

BoondockSaint added 23:11 - Jan 22 zonehead-hope your matchmaker isn't Les!
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bstokesaint added 12:39 - Jan 23 Quite interesting he chose to mention and thank Alan Pardew..
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