Philip Billing says he left AFC Bournemouth for FC Midtjylland in August to save his playing career.
The midfielder has been speaking to TV2 Sport’s Totalfodbold about his Cherries struggles, and Tipsbladet have relayed his comments.
Billing joined Bournemouth in July 2019 and enjoyed regular minutes until Andoni Iraola arrived in June 2023.
His playing time for Bournemouth started to reduce in 2024 as Iraola didn’t consider him during the last calendar year. The Premier League side sent him out on loan to Napoli in January and his situation didn’t improve in Italy.
After the end of last season, the 28-year-old returned to Bournemouth, where he had two years left on his contract. He realised there was no future at the English club, mainly under Iraola.
The Denmark international accepted the situation and decided to swap Bournemouth for Midtjylland. The player says he was desperate to leave the Premier League club last summer to avoid stalling his career.
“I didn’t have the joy of football in the same way in England,” he said.
“I was in Napoli for six months, and then I came back to Bournemouth, but nothing really happened, and then I felt like if I ended up staying two more years, I would end up quitting. I was fed up with being there, and so I was desperate to get away.”
Midtjylland are Billing’s first Danish club, and the move has clearly worked out well in terms of game time. He’s played 881 minutes from 11 matches so far this season.