Trossard reveals De Zerbi humiliated him into quitting Brighton for Arsenal in £27m deal

Leandro Trossard has revealed that a bitter falling-out with Roberto De Zerbi drove his £27 million transfer from Brighton to Arsenal, claiming the Italian manager publicly humiliated him in front of his team-mates at the Amex Stadium before effectively pushing him out of the club.

The Belgian winger, now 31, spent four years on the south coast before joining Arsenal — a move that will keep him out of a reunion with the Seagulls this Saturday, having since secured a summer exit from north London to join Besiktas.

The dispute centred on a training session in January 2023, shortly after the World Cup in Qatar. According to a statement released at the time by Trossard’s agent, a minor altercation between Trossard and a team-mate in training led De Zerbi to stop communicating with the winger directly — a silence that lasted four weeks. The agent stated that De Zerbi then “humiliated Leandro in group and indicated that he no longer wanted to see him.”

De Zerbi, now manager at Tottenham, offered a different account. He said Trossard left a training session without permission after learning he would not feature in Brighton’s FA Cup tie against Middlesbrough. “He left the session without saying anything to me. And it’s not good,” De Zerbi said at the time. “I want only players who work hard and play for the team 100 per cent.”

Trossard’s camp firmly rejected that version of events. His agent explained that the winger had flagged a calf problem on two separate occasions before the Middlesbrough match and left training in consultation with the club’s medical staff — not without authorisation. The agent also noted that De Zerbi himself had suggested on multiple occasions that a transfer would be the most convenient solution, and called on Brighton to facilitate a move during the January window.

The breakdown marked a sharp end to what had been a productive partnership. Trossard had been one of Brighton’s most consistent performers during his time at the club, earning a reputation as one of the Premier League’s more creative wide players before Arsenal moved to sign him.

The full picture of what happened between Trossard and De Zerbi has remained contested, but the winger’s account adds further detail to one of the more acrimonious departures of that transfer window.