Leeds United hero sends message after Igor Thiago deal agreed
Ex-Leeds United defender Pontus Jansson has reacted after Brentford agreed a new five-year contract for breakout star Igor Thiago.
Thiago is attracting significant interest from Premier League clubs ahead of the summer but the Brazilian has committed his future by signing the deal, which also contains the option of an additional year.
The 24-year-old actually arrived at the Gtech Community Stadium in 2024, but spent almost the entirety of his first season out with a knee injury.
His return has been spectacular, with Thiago earning Premier League awards amid a 17-goal league season, so far.
The forward’s form has been well timed, after Brentford sold Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo in the summer for big money.
Pontus Jansson reacts to Igor Thiago news
Jansson left Brentford in 2023, four years after he had joined the club in a deal worth around £5.5million from Leeds.
The defender made 115 appearances for the Bees, and captained the side up to the Premier League, where he would feature for two seasons before his departure.
Jansson had been a fan favourite at Leeds, where he arrived from Torino on a permanent deal in 2017 after initially spending a season on loan.
The Swede was a key part of the defence at Elland Road for his three seasons in the Championship, but left in 2019 as his relationship with Marcelo Bielsa became strained.
Jansson later came out and claimed that Leeds had needed the money from his sale amid intensifying financial fair play restrictions.
The 35-year-old, now back with his boyhood club, Malmo, is fondly remembered at Elland Road, and he is at Brentford, too.
As the Bees announced on Instagram that Thiago has signed a new contract, Jansson commented with two heart emojis.
The moment that led to Jansson’s Leeds United exit
The moment that many associate with the breakdown in the relationship between Jansson and Bielsa would come in the weeks leading up to the end of the 2018-19 season.
Leeds needed to beat Aston Villa to keep their hopes of automatic promotion alive, and they were given the chance when Jonathan Kodjia went down injured.
The visitors stopped with the expectation that the Whites would put the ball out, but Mateusz Klich carried on and scored, sparking a huge brawl that would see Ahmed El Ghazi sent off.
Bielsa ordered his team to allow Villa to score, and most abided, but not Jansson. As Albert Adomah attempted to score, the defender attempted to kick the ball away, sparking more fury.
The Swede’s rage was palpable, and it likely grew more intense when Leeds were denied in the play-off semi-finals by Derby County.