Marko Arnautovic has stood by his decision to force through a move from Stoke City to West Ham United and insists that supporters of his old club 'miss him'.
The Austria international was subjected to wave after wave of abuse on his return to the bet365 Stadium in December - a fixture in which he scored - coming four months after sealing a £25m switch.
In a fresh dig at his former club, Arnautovic insists that West Ham are the bigger of the two sides, while also claiming that Stoke fans should be happy that he ever played for them.
"They hate me, of course, but they hate me because they miss me and they lost me," he told The Sun. "When I was warming up, the whole stadium was focusing on me. They were not even focusing on their own players, only on me, so I knew it was big for them.
"I could have scored five goals, I had a lot of chances. They were cheering when I missed. They were saying really bad stuff when I was outside the ground. It was too much so I said to myself, 'When I score, I'll go crazy because I am happy to score.'
"Booing can happen in away games but, to do it this much? I say, 'Okay you have to respect me for what I did for the club - I did a lot, they should be happy that I was there'. Even kids of ten were shouting bad things at me. I'm thinking, 'Are you not learning any intelligence from your parents?'
"People say I moved for the money, it's not that. If you ask any Premier League player, who is the bigger club, Stoke or West Ham, they agree with me that it's West Ham United. It's not like I am lying or saying anything different to other people."
Arnautovic has hit form for the Hammers over recent weeks, scoring five goals and setting up another in his last seven outings.
