Saido Berahino says West Brom hell saw him falsely accused of being ‘fat’ and left mum Liliane ‘heartbroken’
The £15million Stoke signing finally ended two years of transfer speculation but couldn't resist one final parting shot at fans
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SAIDO BERAHINO fired a parting shot at West Brom for freezing him out when he refused a new deal — then accused him of being fat.
The £15million Stoke signing says he was “unfairly” portrayed as a bad boy at Albion.
Berahino, 23, broke his silence after moving to the Potteries to end two years of transfer speculation.
The ex-England Under-21 hotshot says it was the Baggies who made life difficult for him — not the other way around — and the situation left his mum, Liliane, “heartbroken”.
Berahino’s woes started after threatening to go on strike when Jeremy Peace blocked his £23m move to Spurs in 2015.
But he says the former chairman would not take his calls to explain the situation.
Now he is set for his Stoke debut on Wednesday against Everton.
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Berahino said: “It’s hard to explain why I wasn’t playing at West Brom, the reason they were saying publicly was the opposite of what I knew.
“I got accused of being fat. How can I become fat after starting three games in the league and then being dropped? Suddenly, I’m unfit.
“They never actually told me but it could be because I didn’t sign a new contract.
“They offered me three different contracts in the space of four months, it could be part of it.
“But I tried to have a chat with Tony Pulis, he didn’t say much, so I kind of knew where that was going.
“I’ve been portrayed very unfairly, I’m not a trouble-maker. My mum never brought me up that way.
“So for me to read ‘he’s a bad boy and a bad egg’ was really hard to take.”