Burnley manager Sean Dyche has claimed that the club were left with no choice but to sell Jason Shackell, because he made it clear that he did not want to be at Turf Moor.
The defender has moved back to Derby County on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, having left them to join Burnley in 2012.
Dyche has revealed that Shackell made it known to him that he saw his future with the Rams.
"You can safeguard to a degree but if a player decides 'That's it, I'm not willing to work how you work, don't want to be part of it', which Jason Shackell made a decision on, well then they're no use to you," Dyche told the Lancashire Telegraph.
"They have to be involved in what you do, they have to be motivated in what you do, they have to be motivated for the club and what it stands for.
"Jason had just made a decision it was time for him to move to pastures new. A big part of that was the finance involved and that is the reality of the game now."
Shackell made 128 league appearances during his three years with Burnley.