Gaizka Mendieta has rubbished stories he allegedly claimed he saw Boro players drinking in the dressing room after games.

Mendieta has "apologised unreservedly for any upset which may have been caused".

Gaizka Mendieta: “I want to apologise for what has been written, supposedly in my name.

“I never said that and I am upset that the Spanish journalist has twisted it to sound like I did. It’s very annoying.

“It’s not what I said at all. What I told the reporter was that I heard from team-mates and others that this was the sort of thing that had happened in the past.

“But I certainly never saw it when I was at Middlesbrough.

“Things like that didn’t happen when I was at Middlesbrough.

“I never saw any sign of a drinking culture there.

“Everything was always very professional under both Steve McClaren and Gareth Southgate.”