"When Gaya came back from the World Cup, I forced him to go on holiday"

Valencia fans have not yet forgotten, nor forgiven, Luis Enrique's decision to do without Jose Luis Gaya at the World Cup due to the captain's sprained ankle.

Gennaro Gattuso spoke about it in 'AS': "He is very well. When he came back from the World Cup, he wanted to train the same day. I forced him to go on holiday. It was the best thing to do. We decided very well. It was very hard to have to come back from the World Cup because of a minor injury. He's the captain and he's a guy with great intelligence.

"It's difficult to say if he was unfair to him because there is a coach. I said to him: 'You think about the players, but I also think as a coach'. The coach was afraid, he had to decide and he made the decision. It's not easy," he explained.

Gattuso knows he is not in an easy position, but he is not intimidated. "I only think about my job, about doing it well. If I like a player, I want to sign him. If I don't like him, I don't sign him because he is a friend of Jorge Mendes. It's the same with Peter Lim. I'm not here to help Lim sell players, I'm here to improve the team. Because if that doesn't happen, I'm going home," he said.

January is just around the corner and the Valencia coach needs to strengthen the squad: "I don't have to lie. We have to do one or two things if the market offers the possibility. I spoke to him in Singapore about that and other issues. He knows what the team needs. I am calm.