West Ham cult hero says leaving West Ham was “the hardest moment” in his career.

Few foreign players come into a club and instantly get what it means to represent that team. However, both of the Czech boys, Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal, knew exactly what it meant to be a West Ham player.

Unfortunately, the latter’s time in East London came to an end at the end of last season after a dip in form, with both Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Kyle Walker-Peters coming in to replace him over the past two Summers.

In an interview with Roseanne Thomas, Coufal admitted that he couldn’t see himself ever leaving the club. “Honestly, I thought I was going to retire at West Ham,” he said.

“If they had extended my contract for two years, or even a one year deal with an option, I would have happily accepted it. I had it all pictured in my head that it would end this way.”

“Potter told me the club wouldn’t be extending my contract. I asked why and he said it was a club decision. Was it the manager? The board? I have no idea. It was very disappointing. Five years at the club…for a 30 second conversation.”

“The hardest moment was telling my wife & kids. I was no longer good enough to stay at the club he [his son] loves. He cried and didn’t speak to me for 2 days. He thought I would stay at West Ham forever. I felt it was my fault.”

While the way he was treated is absolutely disgusting, his time at the club was probably up. Although inconsistent game time didn’t help, he wasn’t at the same level he used to be for the whole of his last season.

Fans rightfully love him for his passion and for just how good he was, but in the modern game you simply can’t afford to keep a player around who isn’t playing at the level required.