Morgan Schneiderlin claims that he told Southampton he was being "treated like cattle" after he was refused a summer move to Tottenham.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino launched a public pursuit of the France midfielder after taking over at White Hart Lane as he looked to bolster his squad ahead of the 2014-15 season.
Spurs' overtures were met with swift rebuttals, however, causing Schneiderlin to tweet his disgust after a meeting with the Saints hierarchy where he was told in no uncertain terms that he would not be allowed to follow the likes of Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Luke Shaw out of the exit door.
"Was the meeting with Southampton officials on July 29 tense? Yes," Schneiderlin told France Football. "In the months building up to it, there was interest from clubs – three clubs and Tottenham were among them.
"Since February/March, my agents and I had talked with Southampton about a possible departure. The club always told me they would sell for the right price.
"My agents and I went to that meeting on July 29 in a peaceful state of mind, with exciting propositions. To me, with my six years at Southampton and everything I had given to the club, everything should have been sorted that day.
"I told them I signed for a project that was supposed to keep the best elements in order to go higher. Before that meeting, Lallana, [Dejan] Lovren, Lambert, Luke Shaw and [Calum] Chambers all left. I said to myself: 'This is not the same situation, this is not possible. What are they doing?' At that moment, Southampton hadn't signed anyone.
"Chambers signed for Arsenal the day before our meeting and the club saw the fans getting mad. They thought: 'If Morgan leaves, the stadium will be burnt'. So they told us: 'Morgan is not for sale, we won't listen to anything. That is the decision and there is nothing more to say'."
Schneiderlin admits he was "angry" following Saints' refusal to let him leave, and he says he hit out at those in the meeting, by defending his interests.
"It was a real shock to me," he added. "Of course I was angry. I thought: 'I just played in the World Cup after two good seasons in the Premier League. I never say anything, but I can't stay in a team that plays for survival. I need to reach a new level'. So I told them: 'You don't respect me and you don't respect your words, you treat me like cattle'. They defended their interests and I defended mine."
Schneiderlin refused to play in a pre-season friendly against Bayer Leverkusen, but was subsequently told by the club chairman to think things through over a weekend, a time when Schneiderlin says he was advised to go on strike by friends.
"After I refused to play the friendly against Leverkusen on August 9, the chairman came to speak to me and let me have the weekend to think about things," he explained.
"I talked to a lot of people. Some told me to go on strike, that the club will finally give up. My agents never said that, they just told me to make a decision.
"I felt that the officials wouldn't let me leave, that they would rather leave me on the sidelines for six months. So I resumed training because I really needed to play football again."
Schneiderlin says he eventually decided to stay at the club following their clash with Liverpool, and has now set his sights on qualifying for the Champions League with Southampton.
"I played against Liverpool at Anfield and all the Southampton fans applauded me and chanted my name. It was so heart-warming. I knew then I would spend the whole season at Southampton," he said.
"Maybe now we will achieve something amazing here. Champions League qualification would be fantastic. I hope to play in the Champions League one day, of course. I want to play every three days. But why not play in the Champions League with Southampton?"
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