Former Middlesbrough striker Martin Braithwaite has hit back at those who criticised him during his time at the Riverside, including ex-boss Tony Pulis and Boro fans.

The Danish international signed from Toulouse in 2017 under manager Garry Monk, however, Monk was replaced by Tony Pulis months later and he found himself surplus to requirements at the club. Pulis was publicly critical about the striker and even questioned his attitude.

He has since been allowed to leave the club, joining Spanish side Leganes on a permanent deal after having him on loan last season.

Following his exit from Boro, many fans were rightly critical of his time at the club, with a lot of them venting their opinion on social media.

Now though, Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten has interviewed the 28-year-old, asking about his thoughts on the comments made against him.

Braithwaite said, “People have thanked me for my time at the club. The negative statements came when I was not at the club.”

“Some things have been said that don’t fit. That my attitude was wrong. But it doesn’t fit. All the players are aware how I behaved at Middlesbrough.

“The fact that a picture of me has been created through a manager who has spoken out about me and started lying about some things is not important. You just try to hit me on a personal level.

“I know enough about myself to know how I am and how I have behaved. There’s something Tony Pulis has said that doesn’t fit. But in the end, it’s the past. He must have been pressured when he said that. I have nothing personal with him.

“If you know yourself and you are in balance, then you know how you are as a person. If you behave badly, you know it well. But I’ve been a professional at Middlesbrough and always worked insanely hard. You can be a god one day and a devil the next day. It’s part of the game.”

Braithwaite made a good start to life at Middlesbrough, but things took a turn once Pulis was appointed manager, something he says he does not hold against the Welshman.

“I fell for it immediately. Then I got a coach who would not play the kind of football that I matched. But there were no hard feelings on my part,” he continued.

“If you can only work if people embrace you, then you will have a problem the day they do not. I have to be able to do the same on the pitch no matter how people treat me.”