The relationship between Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa and Sweden international centre-back Pontus Jansson deteriorated to the extent that the Argentine sanctioned his sales during the summer transfer window, but the defender still holds him in high esteem regardless.
The 28-year-old is enjoying life at Brentford, and has featured in 19 Championship games since signing a three-year deal.
The Bees boss Thomas Frank made Jansson his side’s skipper, and the Swede has explained why he enjoys working under him more than he did under Bielsa at Leeds.
“Marcelo is mental in everything that he sees about football. As people they are different because Marcelo does not want to have that close relationship with his players. One reason is the language barrier because he doesn’t speak English very well,” the former Elland Road fans favourite told The Sun.
“I would say I prefer a coach you can talk with. You don’t have to be able to talk about life in general but just football. You could do that with Marcelo but not as much because he’s God and he knows everything so you just have to listen.
“I learned so much from Marcelo, it’s just unbelievable how he sees football. But with me and Thomas we speak so much about football and I like that. With Thomas, I’m captain so our relationship is even closer than the other players have with him.”
Jansson joined Leeds from Torino in 2016, and went on to make 120 appearances, including 44 last season having established himself as a key player for the Whites since arriving, making the Championship Team of the Year last season.
Many reckon he has all it takes to play in the English top-flight, and with Brentford just four points adrift the play-offs spots, securing promotion with them looks feasible.
Ben White has since replaced the Swede at the heart of Leeds’ defence, but he remains a cult-hero at Elland Road, and it will be interesting to see how he fares in his career going forward.
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