Howard tribute to sacked Martinez before last Everton game

American goalkeeper Tim Howard paid a touching tribute to sacked Everton manager Roberto Martinez ahead of his game for the Premier League side where he has been for the past decade.

Howard, 37, said he was “greatly indebted” to Martinez, who left this week, and hailed the Spanish coach “for his great decency and commitment to me as a player.”

The US international also praised David Moyes, Martinez’s predecessor, as “the ultimate leader.”

“I remember the promise that David Moyes made to me 10 years ago: ‘once you walk through those doors, you’ll fall in love,” Howard said in a message on Twitter ahead of his 414th and final game for the Liverpool side against Norwich City.

“Today I will walk through those doors one more time and then I will depart. I will depart with love in my heart for the greatest of football clubs, the people’s club, Everton FC.”

Howard, who joined Everton from Manchester United in 2006 and has dual US-Hungarian citizenship, is returning to America to play with the Colorado Rapids in the MSL. He has won 106 caps for the United States, though none this year.