Roberto Soldado suffered some tough times at Tottenham. IAN KINGTON/AFP/Getty Images

Roberto Soldado has said his struggles at Tottenham began when the London club sacked Andre Villas-Boas, the manager who signed him.

Soldado, 30, moved to White Hart Lane from Valencia in a deal worth £26 million two years ago.

But the Spanish forward scored only 16 times in 76 games and returned to Spain when he joined Villarreal in the summer.