Former Leeds United forward Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has brushed off similarities with his departure from the club and Alexander Isak’s acrimonious current situation at Newcastle United.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was a fan favourite during his time at Elland Road, but his time at the club ended in a public fallout over his contract as he left to join Atlético Madrid in La Liga.
However, Leeds fans were incensed further when Hasselbaink returned to the Premier League just 12 months later, joining West London giants Chelsea, after Leeds refused to allow him to join their rivals the previous year.
Alexander Isak is currently locked in transfer limbo, having openly declared his desire to leave Newcastle United to join Liverpool, with his current club holding firm and refusing to sell him.
Now, Hasselbaink has dismissed any similarities between the two situations, claiming that he had wanted to stay at Leeds, which is a key difference between the two stand-offs.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink celebrates a goal for Leeds United
14 Nov 1998: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink of Leeds United celebrates one of his goals during the FA Carling Premiership match against Liverpool at Anfield in Liverpool, England. Leeds won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Ben Radford /Allsport
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink claims he wanted to stay at Leeds United
Speaking on the Premier League show on Sky Sports News, the former Leeds and Chelsea man gave his view on Isak’s current standoff with Newcastle.
According to Hasselbaink, he would not have approached the situation in the same way as the wantaway Newcastle man has, explaining that he wanted to stay at Leeds when his relationship with the club broke down. Hasselbaink said: “There are ways to handle it. He’s going this way.
“Would I have done the same? Maybe, maybe not. My situation was a little bit different from Leeds. I wanted to stay, he wants to go.”
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He added, “I don’t know his motives, but my motive was I wanted to sign for Leeds. We didn’t agree on a contract. I had two years left. I said, OK, then I’ll stay and play for the same contract that I have. They didn’t want me to stay because obviously, then my value goes down, because then I would have one year left. And I said, OK, well, I only sign if you give me X, and this is in my contract.
“We couldn’t get an agreement. And other clubs came in for me, and I was willing to go to another club, but then they played it really well in public, and made me look like I was the greedy one, or I wanted to go, and it was all my fault.
“And there was a period when I couldn’t walk over the street by myself. You know, it was in my car, training, in my car, back home. I had people in front of my house. So yeah, that part is not nice, but as we were saying before, there is always a little bit of drama in a whole career, and that was my drama.
“It wasn’t nice, but you get stronger and you move on, and luckily I went to a magnificent club and did well and came back to England and did even better, so at the end of the day they missed out.”
Jimmy Hasselbaink
3 Apr 1999: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink of Leeds United shoots with power at goal during the FA Carling Premiership match against Nottingham Forest played at Elland Road in Leeds, England. The match finished in a 3-1 win for Leeds United. Mandatory Credit:Tony O''Brien /Allsport
How many goals did Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink score for Leeds?
Although Hasselbaink’s career with Leeds ended on a sour note, for a brief period, he lit up Elland Road with his dazzling performances.
Having struggled for goals under George Graham, following the decline and subsequent departure of legendary striker Tony Yeboah, the Dutch international proved to be a bargain at £2 million as Leeds climbed out of mid-table into European contention.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s record at Leeds United:
Total Appearances: 85
Total Goals: 41
Premier League appearances: 69
Premier League Goals: 34
According to PremierLeague.com, Hasselbaink’s best league season at Leeds came in 1998/99, with 18 goals in the Premier League in his final season at the club.
This contributed to his overall tally of 41 goals in 85 games for the Whites, in a spell that ended in a very public falling out.