Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink says he was naive when he answered questions during an undercover investigation but denies accepting a bribe to make a profit from a player transfer.
The QPR boss was privately filmed as part of the Daily Telegraph's undercover 'Football For Sale' probe into corruption in football. The footage alleges that Hasselbaink was 'negotiating a fee of £55,000 to act as an ambassador for a sports company (A Far Eastern firm) that proposed selling players to his club.'
Speaking to Sky Sports however, Hasselbaink says that while he has regrets about how he conducted himself during the filming, he defiantly denies discussing the fee for unlawful purposes.
He says that the proposed fee was for him to travel out on his day off and speak to investors at the Far East firm which turned out to be fictitious. He says that this activity is something that is sanctioned by a clause in his contract with the club. He also noted that he has no control over transfers, which are handled by Les Ferdinand and the QPR board.
WATCH: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink admits he was naive but insists he would never take a bribe: https://t.co/BRh17Q8Ny5 https://t.co/qk0rS0Nx5Y
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) September 30, 2016
"No, never. I have never been offered any money and I would never entertain that. You know you reflect, you think back and you criticise yourself and you must say, that I have been naive. I have been naive.
"But then with everything with it, I have never asked for money for myself to take a player or to bring a player to the club. I would never do that. That is the painful thing about it. The painful thing about it is that I take my job very serious. Very, very, very serious and I want to succeed in this business."
"I can't speak for others, I can only speak for me and this, taking money, is not what I stand for. It is not what I stand for, I have never done it and I would never do it just to get a player to the club so I can benefit from that. No."
In relation to the £55,000 fee, Hasselbaink stressed that this is a reasonable figure for public speaking in professional football.
"I understand for the English public, or whatever public, that £55,000 is a lot of money. And it is a lot of money. But in the industry that I am in I am fortunate that I can make those kinds of figures.
"I was negotiating to go Singapore for a speech. That's it. That's it. No favouritism, no strings attached. What I would never ever do. Never ever do. I would not put myself in that position."
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