ALLEN PARK -- Darius Slay finally got the trade he wanted. Now he’s airing out some dirty laundry.

The former Lions star cornerback, traded to Philadelphia on Thursday morning, joined WJR later in the day and said he’s had a bad relationship with Matt Patricia since the coach arrived in Detroit in 2018.

“Shoot, I didn’t have that much respect for Matty P as a person," Slay said. "It was hard for me to play for him. That’s all that was.”

Related: Darius Slay’s trade to Philadelphia was a long time coming

The clash between Slay and Patricia isn’t a surprise. Slay is fun-loving and outgoing, even in the tough times. That grated on Patricia, the longtime New England assistant who is trying to install the all-business “Patriot Way” in Detroit. It all came to a head last season when the Lions traded Quandre Diggs, a team captain and Slay’s best remaining friend on the team. Slay called the move “bull(expletive)” on Twitter, and the Lions began shopping him at the deadline.

They couldn’t find the right package and ultimately held onto Slay for the rest of the season, but all the tea leaves suggested the Pro Bowler’s days in Detroit remained numbered. General manager Bob Quinn said at the combine he was shopping Slay, and finally pulled the trigger on Thursday. Detroit got a third- and fifth-round pick to send Slay to Philadelphia.

In return, Slay got a three-year extension worth $50 million from the Eagles -- meaning he got out of a difficult situation in Detroit and became the highest-paid cornerback in the league.

“Of course I wanted to stay (in Detroit) for a minute, but I already knew how me and Matt Patricia is,” Slay told WJR. “That wasn’t going to last long.”

Here is our interview with @_bigplayslay23 on @wjrradio

Part 1 of 4 pic.twitter.com/bEmL5krJ9R — Mitch Albom Show (@mitchalbomshow) March 19, 2020

Asked to provide an example, Slay said Patricia once told him he shouldn’t work out with some other star corners because he wasn’t good enough.

“He told me I wasn’t elite," Slay said. “He told me I had no business working out with Richard Sherman and (Aqib) Talib because I wasn’t elite, and those guys are in the elite category and I was just good.”

Slay is known for working out with other big-name players in the offseason -- he once spent time living with Rod Woodson to improve his game early in his career -- and said he had a problem with Patricia’s comment because he was just trying to elevate his game.

“If I ain’t elite in your eyes, at least I’m trying to go compete with guys and work out with guys and pick their brains to become elite,” Slay said in the interview.

The numbers suggest Slay has been one of the best cornerbacks of his generation. He’s defended more passes than any other player since he entered the league in 2013. He led the NFL in interceptions during a breakout 2017 season and was named first-team All-Pro. His numbers did fall off some in 2019, although that certainly had something to do with the pass rush that was playing in front of him, which was among the league’s worst by every measure.

Still, Slay locked up most WR1s he faced -- and did so while playing primarily in press man, a difficult task for any corner -- and maintained so much respect around the league that players voted him to a third straight Pro Bowl despite the numbers.

The Lions are coming off a three-win season that was one of their worst defensive showings in franchise history. They need more good defensive players, not fewer. But the fractious relationship between Slay and Patricia made a return untenable, as did Slay’s contract demands.

“Our first year was rough,” Slay said. “Second year was good -- second year was no problem -- but our first year, it really destroyed our whole kind of like (relationship).”

Slay said there was no surprise in the Lions locker room about the trade because players knew the state of his relationship with Patricia.

“They knew it was coming too, I’ve been telling them,” Slay said. "They already know how I feel with me and Matty P. We was not -- you know, we don’t see eye to eye.”

While Slay’s relationship with Patricia was strained, he said he still loves Lions fans and the Detroit community. He became highly involved in the area over the years, including dropping in on local football and basketball games, as well as organizing pickup basketball games at local gyms.

“I got a lot of love for Detroit, I got a lot of fans here man,” Slay said. “I support the fans. I go out to the community, high school games, basketball games. I’m going to miss those, I’m really going to miss the fans here, and some great guys in the locker room man. Some great friends in the locker room.”

Asked if there was any response to Slay’s comments, the Lions did not immediately respond.