Zola: We had to let Bellamy seek his fortune

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola today contended he had no choice but to let striker Craig Bellamy seek his "fortune" at Manchester City.

Bellamy signed for cash-rich City earlier this week in a deal worth £14million after refusing to play for West Ham in a Premier League match with Fulham.

Zola said: "We respect the fact that Craig had to go somewhere else to find his fortune but we want to get on with our lives here and to be successful."

Zola also denied reported claims by the Wales international striker that he wanted to stay at Upton Park.

"I don't think he wanted to stay," said the West Ham manager. "We are not going to send players away who want to stay."

Zola, who once turned down a lucrative offer from Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to return to Stamford Bridge after going back to his native Sardinia, also praised Brazilian star Kaka for staying at Italian giants AC Milan rather than moving to City in a £100m deal.

Zola added: "Kaka proved that values are more important than money and I would also like to think that is the case."