Duje Ćaleta-Car says the spell at Southampton was the most challenging of his career.
The Croatia international arrived at St Mary’s in September 2022, after four successful years at Marseille.
Southampton were then in the Premier League and Ralph Hasenhüttl was in charge.
The Saints parted ways with Hasenhüttl in November 2022 and appointed Nathan Jones as his successor.
However, Southampton’s performances didn’t improve under Jones, and he stepped down from his role in February 2023.
Later that month, Rubén Sellés took over from Jones, but he couldn’t help the English club avoid relegation, who finished bottom of the table.
During that season, the centre-back played 1,465 minutes from 19 matches and 13 were in the Premier League. Two months ago, the 29-year-old said he suffered a lot during his time in England with Southampton.
Following their relegation to the Championship, the defender moved to Lyon on loan in August 2023 before joining them permanently a year later.
Nightmare spell at Southampton
Last summer, the Ligue 1 side allowed Duje Ćaleta-Car to go out on a season-long loan deal to Real Sociedad.
Friday’s edition of ABC have published an interview with the Lyon owned player, who also talks about his time at Southampton.
The Croatian now indicates he knew from the beginning that it would be a complicated season with the Saints due to their sporting project.
Ćaleta-Car was at Red Bull Salzburg between 2014 and 2018 and moved to Marseille.
He had enjoyed a good run at these two clubs. The newspaper were curious to know why it was completely opposite at St Mary’s.
“That was the most difficult time of my career. From Salzburg, I went to Olympique de Marseille, where I spent four years, and I wanted to try something new,” he said.
“That’s why I went to the Premier League. Southampton was a mid-table Premier League team, but the season I arrived, the project was built with a large number of young players. The experienced players were sold, and it was very difficult to compete. I’ve always felt like I wasted a year. But that’s football. You accept it and look ahead.”
What’s happening with ex-Southampton man
Duje Ćaleta-Car has played 26 matches for Real Sociedad man.
The central defender won four league title and three Austrian Cup during his time at Red Bull Salzburg.
Since then, he hasn’t won silverware but that could change this weekend when La Real face Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday.