In an emotional open letter to Bolton Wanderers fans in which Ivan Campo has expressed his love for the club, the Spaniard has also attacked manager Gary Megson and chairman Phil Gartside for the way his departure has been handled.

After spending five seasons at The Reebok Stadium, the Basque star was not offered a new contract by Megson this summer and after being unaware that he needed to say his farewells on the final day of the season, Campo has now issued a letter of thanks to the Trotters fans who took him to their hearts.

"I have no desire to harm the image of Bolton Wanderers Football Club in any way, and I do not want this to end on a sour note," wrote Campo.

"However, I must add that it is a bit sad that I had to find out from the coach, in a two minute phone call, four days after the final game of the season, that he no longer wanted me: Thanks for everything but you'll need to find something somewhere else.

"I can fully understand that the coach wants to play a different style of football and that there is no room for a player like me. That's fine, but I would have liked to have been given the chance to say goodbye to you all.

"There is one more thing: One of the saddest things to have happened to me in my entirely unforgettable time at Bolton, and that is the fact nobody from the football club has been in contact with me to wish me good luck in my new adventure. At the very least I expected a phone call from the chairman, Phil Gartside. I'm very upset that it has ended this way."

However, Campo has left the door open to a possible return to the club and will not rule out a coaching or scouting role in the future.

He wrote, in the letter published by guillembalague.com: "I know that I will always be welcome in Bolton, the place that I have called home for the last six years. I would have liked to have stayed for another year or two at the club and hung up my boots wearing the white shirt of Bolton Wanderers.

"I'll definitely be back to watch Bolton at The Reebok and, who knows, maybe even return to work with the youth team one day. I love to watch those kids play football: So happy and innocent. They called me 'The Legend', but what they never realised was that when I watched them play they reminded me of my own beginnings on the football field, when the most important thing was that you enjoyed yourself.

"I could even work as a scout for Bolton, maybe bringing Spanish players back to the club."