Former Liverpool winger Albert Riera has claimed that his departure from Udinese was a mutual arrangement, rather than being linked to off-the-pitch reasons.

The 32-year-old signed for the Serie A outfit from Galatasaray in March but has now left the club, with reports claiming that he missed Udinese's game against Chievo on November 23 to play poker in Slovenia.

However, Riera hit back at the allegations, tweeting: "To clarify, the termination of the contract [is] by mutual agreement, not due to reasons outside the football."

Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez brought Riera to Anfield from Espanyol in the summer of 2008 for a fee of around £8m.