Hugo Lloris has always been more than just a goalkeeper for Tottenham. The legendary skipper spent 12 seasons at the club, giving fans countless unforgettable moments. But his final chapter with Tottenham wasn’t the farewell anyone imagined. In his autobiography, Lloris opened up about those difficult last months.
Lloris’ final game in a Spurs shirt came on 23 April 2023, a day most of us would rather forget. Tottenham were humiliated 6-1 by Newcastle United, conceding five goals in the opening 21 minutes. To make matters worse, Lloris picked up a tendon injury in the first half and had to be subbed off at halftime.
Reflecting on that match, Lloris wrote: “It was my last match with the club. A tendon went as I cleared the ball during the first half of a nightmarish Spurs game at Newcastle in April.”
We had braced ourselves for the end of his time at Spurs, but no one could have predicted it would come in such a brutal fashion.
In January 2023, Lloris retired from international football, and by May, he started to wonder if it was time to leave Spurs too. The decision was all but made when Tottenham signed Guglielmo Vicario in the summer.
Lloris explained: “The message to me was all too clear: having been captain of the team for ten years, I was no longer a part of their plans.”
What frustrated him wasn’t the decision but the timing. Spurs signed Vicario early in the window but didn’t inform Lloris until much later, leaving him with fewer options.
In August, Daniel Levy encouraged Lloris to join Lazio, but the move didn’t sit right with him. Lazio already had Ivan Provedel, who had enjoyed a fantastic season, and Lloris didn’t want to step in and disrupt that.
“I didn’t see the point in leaving for a club which already had a first-team keeper and risk holding back a goalie who was progressing really well… Were I younger, I might have gone. But not now” he explained.
With the transfer window closing in a few hours, Lloris stayed at Spurs — but it quickly became clear he wasn’t part of the plans.
From the outside, it looked like the club had no idea how to handle one of its greatest captains. He was frozen out of training sessions, excluded from matchday squads, and made to feel invisible.
He didn’t hide his frustration: “I disliked being useless and feeling surplus to requirements.”
Some teammates even avoided him, treating him like he wasn’t part of the squad anymore. He had little to no interaction with Ange Postecoglou, who had his sights set on a younger, fresh squad.
It’s hard not to criticise the club for how they treated him. After 447 appearances and nine seasons as captain, a bit more respect for a player who gave his all for Spurs is expected. But this is a management team that has been criticised for years now — for questionable decisions, and a lack of sentimentality toward the club’s heroes. For someone who had been at the heart of the club for over a decade, it was a bitter pill to swallow.
Lloris stuck it out at Spurs until December 2023, when he finally moved to LAFC in Major League Soccer. The fresh start has done him wonders. The Frenchman has already lifted trophies and helped LAFC top the league.
It’s clear Lloris is loving life in Los Angeles, and who can blame him? Now, he looks happy and returned to doing what he loves most.
Lloris’ exit from Spurs was far from perfect, but he remains proud of his time at the club. We will never forget his iconic saves, his leadership, and his passion for the badge.
He summed it up best in his autobiography: “I often thought that my Spurs story deserved a different ending. But I now know that the end was indeed beautiful.”
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