FC COPENHAGEN director Peter Christiansen has revealed a financial settlement was paid to acquire new Saints lead coach Ruben Selles.

The 38-year-old Spaniard has left his assistant manager role in Denmark and joined the St Mary’s side to act as a lead assistant to manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.

With Selles’ help, FC Copenhagen last year won their division for the first time in three years, under boss Jess Thorup. Selles has also worked at Spanish sides Villareal and Valencia.

And Christiansen thanked Selles for his work, revealing the club reluctantly let him pursue the top level job.

"Rubén has done a really good job in FCK, and he is a talented coach, so he will always in demand by others,” he said, on the club website.

“Now it is a club from the world's biggest league that has approached us and for Rubén it is a unique opportunity that he cannot turn down.

"We have done everything we could to keep him here, but we have been able to make a really good financial agreement as a patch on the wound for his departure, and the process has been very respectful.

“It is with a bleeding heart that we let Rubén go, but it is part of football, and we thank him for his efforts here and wish him and his family all the best in England.”

Following his departure, Selles himself added: “It has been a great pleasure for my family and I to be in the club and in Copenhagen.

“We have been treated fantastically well, had a lot of good experiences and met many good and talented people.

"This opportunity has come as a bit of a surprise, but it is not often that you get the chance to work in the Premier League.

“Therefore, I am grateful that FCK has been understanding, even though it was not what they wanted and that they have acted as gentlemen by entering into an agreement and letting me have that experience.”

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo.

Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website.

You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more.

Don't take my word for it - subscribe here to see for yourself.

Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by joining our Facebook group - Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents

Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated Facebook group - Hampshire Court and Crime News