Julen Lopetegui reveals he cried when leaving Wolves just days before start of the season after being told it would be ‘impossible to develop the project’ at Molineux by owners Fosun International

• Julen Lopetegui has revealed that he cried after leaving Wolves this summer
• Wolves’ owners told him it would be ‘impossible’ to develop Wolves project
• Mail Sport’s new WhatsApp Channel: Get the breaking news and exclusives here

Julen Lopetegui has confessed that his Wolves exit left him in tears after the Spanish manager departed Molineux just three days before the start of the Premier League season. 

The former Spain and Real Madrid boss opted to leave the West Midlands club due to disagreements with owners Fosun International over transfer policy. 

Having sold Ruben Neves to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal for £47million, Wolves had only recruited free signings Tom King and Matt Doherty by the time Lopetegui departed on August 9. 

Chairman Jeff Shi wrote an open letter to supporters explaining the club needed to cut back on signings to adhere to Financial Fair Play restrictions, and the 57-year-old felt his ambition of guiding Wolves to the top-half of the Premier League could not be met. 

He told The Athletic: ‘When we started pre-season, they told me that it’s impossible to develop this project and we decided to part ways.

Julen Lopetegui has revealed that he cried after leaving as manager of Wolves in the summer 

The Spaniard said that Wolves’ owners, including chairman Jeff Shi (above), told him it would be ‘impossible to develop’ his project at the club

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‘I love all the workers, all the players, and, above all, the fans – they have an incredible warmth towards me. I still live there, so I feel that.

‘I wish the best to the owners, to [incoming manager] Gary O’Neil, to [sporting director] Matt Hobbs, to [general manager] Matt Wild, and to all of the players. I am always going to be a little wolf.  

Lopetegui helped to keep Wolves in the Premier League last season after arriving at the club when they were in the relegation zone in November 2022.

But after securing a comfortable 13th-place finish in May, it became clear that Wolves would need to cut back on spending. 

Having splashed out on Matheus Cunha, Joao Gomes, Mario Lemina and Pablo Sarabia in January to help stay in the topflight, the club sanctioned the big-money departures of Neves to Saudi Arabia and Nathan Collins to Premier League rivals Brentford. 

Lopetegui oversaw Wolves’ pre-season preparations despite knowing that his exit was in the process of being finalised.

Even though he was only at the club for just under nine months, Lopetegui revealed his departure was still tough to comprehend. 

He said: ‘It was not easy for me. It was a pity. I remember a lot of workers, and us too, we were crying. 

‘The environment and commitment that we created at Wolves in a short time is not normal. 

Lopetegui helped to save Wolves from relegation last season, with the club sat in the relegation zone when he arrived in November 2022

The sale of Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves to Sauid Pro League side Al-Hilal did little to free up transfer funds at Molinuex

‘I remember this with a big, heavy heart. This was special.’ 

The £53million sale of Matheus Nunes to Manchester City did allow incoming boss O’Neil to add to his squad in the final days of the window.

Wolves have won just one of their first six Premier League games of the season though, and were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Championship side Ipswich Town in midweek. 

They welcome league leaders City to Molineux on Saturday in search of their first home victory of the campaign. 

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