Leeds manager Garry Monk has delivered a passionate rant about greedy and selfish players in the wake of Charlie Taylor’s bold decision to skip the final day of the season.
The 23-year-old defender refused to play for the Whites against Wigan on Sunday in the final Championship match of the campaign and it looks like he will be leaving Elland Road on a sour note.
The left-back’s contract will expire this summer and West Brom are reportedly in talks over a potential deal.
Monk described Taylor as “naive” and “terribly advised” following the incident, which caused major anger from Leeds supporters.
The 38-year-old manager has slammed selfish players in the game and claims that achieving something in the game is worth much more than money.
“The club cannot have or accept a player refusing to play. It’s not what it should be,” Monk said, as quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post. “Achievement should be about making history for a club or achieving something properly for a club, it shouldn’t be about what your bank balance is.
“Football now is a lot more that way; what car you have, what house you have, what money you get. Players tend to focus on that as an achievement and it’s not an achievement at all. To achieve something proper is to be remembered at a club and or do something successful at a club. That’s what the drive should be.”
Taylor looks like leaving the Whites on a negative note and he has grown frustrated since he was denied a move last summer.
The defender now looks set to get his move to the Premier League and leave behind his boyhood club in the process.
He is a product of the Leeds academy and has made 104 senior appearances for them since breaking into the first team.
Taylor played an important role in the club’s seventh-placed finish this campaign, but did miss spells due to injury.
Leeds proved the strength of their squad in those moments as versatile defender Gaetano Berardi filled in at left-back.