Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis appeared to fire back at Tottenham Hotspur over "appropriate actions” after Morgan Gibbs-White signed a new three-deal with the club.
Spurs met the £60m release clause in Gibbs-White’s previous contract earlier this month in what Forest felt was an illegal approach.
After Gibbs-White committed to the City Ground with a new deal on Saturday evening, Marinakis had some choice words, seemingly directed at Tottenham.
He told the club: “We’re very happy about it (Gibbs-White’s deal). We share the same dreams and ambitions.
“He’s a talented player who loves Nottingham Forest. He became a legend already.
“We needed to give a message to our supporters and of course to supporters of all the other teams in England, in Europe, that with legends, you need to treat them in an appropriate manner.
“As long as I’m in charge of Nottingham Forest, these actions, approaches, should take place in an appropriate manner.
“I would never let anybody from any other team try to get a player from us or make something that we don’t agree with. Especially with some guys that belong to our family.
“Therefore, with Morgan, it didn’t take long to come to an agreement. It was a very short conversation, full of passion and love for the club.
“When you have passion and love for something, it’s a matter of a few seconds to agree. All our supporters should know that this guy loves the club.”
Forest had already lost one of their star attackers in Anthony Elanga and faced losing another when Spurs, under new manager Thomas Frank, moved for Gibbs-White.
But the saga, during which Forest considered legal action against Spurs, now looks to be over, with Gibbs-White to lead the club into the new season and into their European campaign.