Percy Tau responds to 'bad vibes' allegations from Arsenal star Leandro Trossard at Brighton - 'All I wanted was to play'

Percy Tau made his name at Mamelodi Sundowns from 2013 to 2018, prompting Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion to go for his services.

However, the Bafana Bafana captain struggled to break into the first team and ended up playing away, on loan.

He was eventually offloaded in 2021 to Egyptian heavyweights Al Ahly.

While with Brighton & Hove Albion, there were reports that Tau was not on good terms with current Arsenal attacker Leandro Trossard.

The duo was struggling for game time, which led the Belgium attacker to allegedly engage in 'bad vibes' to stand a chance of being selected ahead of his competitor.

However, Tau has denied having knowledge of the strained relationship between him and the Belgium international.

The Lion of Judah, however, did concede that they were both struggling for recognition while fighting for the same position on the field.

“I’ve always heard people, even when I was at Brighton, mentioning this, but I didn’t pay too much attention to it because I wanted to play,” he told Radio 94.7

“That was the whole thing about me, my focus was all about trying to impress the coach and trying to play, and I saw the respect I got from players. Some of them would ask me, ‘Why [aren’t you] playing?’.

“Even when I left for Al Ahly, I spoke to Adam Lallana, and he was shocked. He asked, ‘Why are you doing that?’ It was not a decision, but I spent time on it," Tau continued.

“So, I didn’t pay much attention to the [Trossard] issue. All I wanted was to play. We played together against Manchester City when he came on.

“We were in a similar position, of course, there would be competition.

"But I would have loved to be given more chances to prove myself because it’s not like I felt I didn’t belong there or there was a gap between myself and them," he concluded.

Tau is currently a free agent after being released by Qatar SC following the expiry of his short term contract.

The versatile attacker has already expressed his interest in the Premier Soccer League, stating he is ready to play for any team that gives him a chance.