Eric Dier has opened up on what it feels like to finally win the first trophy of his career, admitting that he feared he would never be able to win one before hanging up his boots after failing to get over the line time and again at Tottenham.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs side would arguably go down in history as one of the best sides to have never won any silverware.
Under the Argentine, Spurs competed for the Premier League twice, amassing 86 points during the 2016-17 season and falling short in various semifinals and finals, including the 2019 Champions League final.
After going through the heartbreak of that Tottenham journey, Harry Kane and Eric Dier now finally have the sweet feeling of success after Bayern Munich were crowned Bundesliga champions.
Eric Dier admits the winning feeling is better than he imagined
Eric Dier has now opened up on the feeling of failing at the final hurdle with Tottenham and England over the best part of the last decade, admitting that the journey makes this success even sweeter. The centre-back admitted that there is a bit of relief, given what he went through in North London.
Dier said (via The Sun): “To win a trophy feels good and it feels better than anyone has ever described. Obviously, it’s been a long time coming. The longer you go, the more you wonder if it’ll happen. And I think that is normal, especially when you have close calls and you don’t get it.
“I think back a lot to the first season at Spurs when we were in the Carabao Cup final in 2015 and we lost that. There are always a lot of ‘what-ifs’ in your life and your career. And if I had got a trophy that early on, then who knows what would have happened.
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“But it doesn’t matter now, I’ve got it. It’s been an amazing year. Being in an environment where you learn how to win and what it takes to do it, does help. There’s an aspect of relief that you’ve finally done it. It’s a huge weight off my shoulders in that sense, but obviously it is not about me or any individual, it’s a huge collective effort.”
When asked about the fact that he won it alongside his longtime friend and teammate Kane, Dier responded: “Yes, for me to win it with Harry is incredibly special. We’ve played together since we were 20 and in the England national teams before that. We were together when we officially won it the other night and that was a special moment for us.”
Dier reveals he could have stayed at Bayern Munich
The former Tottenham man will leave the Allianz Arena when his contract runs out at the end of this season.
Dier has now confirmed that the Bundesliga giants did offer him a one-year extension, but he decided to sign for Monaco, who showed that they really wanted him by offering a two-year contract.
The England international said about his departure from Bavaria: “We had good conversations with the club, but just couldn’t find an agreement, so then I started to look at what I thought would be the best opportunity for myself.
“Now I’m very excited. You don’t have regrets, but when you’re in one place for a long time, you don’t realise the big world out there. Football is very big in lots of different countries, and you can learn a lot just by moving around and into different cultures, different types of football, different leagues — so I think it’ll do me good.
“Monaco really, really wanted me, and I appreciated that. They made all the effort for me to go there, so I’m talking about it, but I don’t think it’s official yet!”