Anthony Gordon believes he played a "massive part" in keeping Everton up last season and was "hurt" by the lack of credit the club showed him after his £45m move to Newcastle.
The Liverpool-born midfielder's boyhood club released a 59-word statement to announce his departure in January.
It included no word of thanks or good luck message and said he had left after "submitting a formal transfer request".
"It did hurt me a little bit, I'm not going to lie to you," said Gordon.
"I thought 'I'm a 22-year-old lad, I'm not going to handle every situation in life perfectly', but I think the effort I gave them last year, I was a massive part in keeping the club up.