El-Hadji Diouf insists he has "no regrets" about the bust-up with Anton Ferdinand which led to his Sunderland exit.

But Diouf has played down the row, saying: "It is gone, it is finished.

"Anton is my man. He just made me mad for one day, but that's it.

"He knows that I don't like it when someone gives me a headache. Everybody knows my character. If there is something wrong with the team then I want to tell everybody."

He added: "Anton is a good man. I have spoken to him since and I don't have an issue with him. I don't regret what I said. I don't regret anything. It's just that he told me something while I was talking to the gaffer and it was not the right time to do that.

"He used to come to my house to eat, drink, everything. I used to go to his house to play pool. Me and Anton never had problems. It's just when I'm mad I had a problem with him."