Nicolas Anelka, who played under Sam Allardyce at Bolton, has given the former England manager his support following the national team coach’s departure on Tuesday.

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Anelka, whose most recent football exploits were as player-coach for Mumbai City, posted his comments early on Tuesday morning following the overnight news that Allardyce had left his post.

He said: “So sorry for this story big sam! U were the right man for England and I still believe u are! Doesn’t matter what u did or what u said we all do mistakes … The most important is we still love u! Thanks for everything”.

Anelka, whose peripatetic career took him to 11 clubs, including two spells at Paris Saint-Germain, was sacked by West Bromwich in 2014 following his use of the allegedly antisemitic ‘quenelle’ gesture when celebrating a goal. His postings on social media during the case was cited by the club as one of the reasons for terminating his contract.