Article body analysed
By LEWIS BROWNING, SPORTS REPORTER Published: 02: 54 AEST, 9 September 2025 | Updated: 04: 30 AEST, 9 September 2025 19 View comments The star who was surprisingly left out of Tottenham's Champions League squad for the league phase has broken his silence on the decision. Squads were submitted to UEFA on Tuesday with Mathys Tel, a £30million summer signing from Bayern Munich after a loan spell last season, did not make the cut. Thomas Frank knew there was a difficult decision to make after signing Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani in the final days of the transfer window. Both were named for the league phase of the competition which starts with a home tie against Villarreal on Tuesday week. There were consequences however because Tottenham are three short of UEFA's four-man quota for club-trained players, which effectively means they must submit a squad of 22 not 25. Players such as Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert and Takai, who all qualify for the Premier League as Under-21 players, do not meet the stringent UEFA criteria and so must be part of the senior squad. Frank has left out all his injured players. And Tel was the senior name who missed out, alongside Dejan Kulusevski, Radu Dragusin, Yves Bissouma, Kota Takai and James Maddison. The forward, meanwhile, has now spoken out. Mathys Tel has broken his silence on being left out of Tottenham's Champions League squad Thomas Frank had a decision to make after signing Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani 'When you're not on the list, of course it hurts, ' Tel told Le Telegramme. 'But I stay positive whatever the situation. 'I've worked a lot on the mental side. It's a disappointment, I would have liked to be there, but it's the coach's choice and you can only respect it and work to respond in the best way on the pitch. ' Tel has arguably struggled to reach the heights that had been expected of him since his January move, having also been sought out by Manchester United in the winter window. The 20-year-old has so far played 23 times for Tottenham, scoring three goals and providing a further two assists. He has plenty of competition for his spot, with the likes of Dominic Solanke, Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani capable of playing through the middle and stars such as Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odobert and a number of others favouring the left side - Tel's two best positions. 'I have learned that no matter what the situation, you have to be patient, ' he added. 'Sometimes there are things you deserve, but you don't get them in return. 'So I have gained maturity and experience, and I think that today it has shaped my personality and character. '
Share what you think
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of Mail Online.
By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual. Do you want to automatically post your Mail Online comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to Mail Online as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on Mail Online. To do this we will link your Mail Online account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy. Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd