Cesare Prandelli has announced that he left Valencia over a dispute over transfer spending this winter.
The former Italy coach resigned on Dec. 30, three months after taking charge after picking up just six points in eight games.
But Prandelli says it was not the results which forced him to leave. He claims that Valencia reneged on transfer promises they had made to him, rendering his position untenable.
"They promised me new signings and an investment of €30 million," Prandelli told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I went to Singapore to speak to the owner [Peter Lim] and I told him I needed at least a forward, two midfielders and a defender and he said 'OK.'
"I immediately moved for [Simone] Zaza, who was ideal for my project. We got an agreement with Juventus, I spoke with his father Antonio and asked to be able to negotiate with Simone. He's got character and personality and he agreed, so I expected him to arrive on the 28th for training -- I had no time to waste.
"Instead, the club blocked everything and the vice-president says in a conference call that I have 24 hours to pick one midfielder or one forward. I say: 'how come? We've already got a centre forward!' There was no reply, so I took 24 hours to think about it and then resigned. We couldn't even sign a player that we had already agreed on. That was mission over."
Prandelli said he could have stayed on at the club and waited to be sacked, enabling him to receive his full wages for the next two years instead of stepping down of his own free will and being paid only a three-month notice period.
"It was a nice contract, I can assure you, and if I wanted to be cheeky I could have waited for them to sack me, but that's not the way I am," Prandelli said. "They had enough problems as it is with the wage bill, which they wanted to reduce, but I reminded them that it was they who stipulated those contracts."
Prandelli's latest brief return to coaching -- coming after he spent just four-and-a-half months at Galatasaray in 2014 -- has not convinced him to quit for good, however.
"I'm determined, I have the adrenaline and I am highly motivated, but I did not leave Valencia because I have another club lined up," he said. "Let me just get a few ideas straight and we can talk about it soon. I certainly have not thought about retiring."