Mauricio Pinilla has claimed he left Hearts because the club wanted to change the terms of his employment.

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The Chile striker was troubled with injuries during his two seasons with the Edinburgh club but had hoped to finally make an impact after agreeing to a new three-year deal.

He claims Hearts then wanted to slash his wages and keep a close eye on his diet, which Pinilla refused to accept.

He was released on Tuesday and told Chilean newspaper Las Ultimas Noticias: "I had spoken with Hearts' directors, and the owner (Vladimir Romanov) wanted to double my salary. But then the official concerned with players' contracts turned up at our training camp in Lithuania. I read my documents and saw that important changes had been made.

"They were now offering me just 25% of what we agreed, and they would see about the rest during the season."

Pinilla, 24, objected to the new conditions and also refused to work with the "diet policeman" Hearts hoped he would link up with.

He said: "He would be a diet policeman, who inspected what I had to eat from breakfast all the way through to dinner. I was supposed to have this guy at my side every day. You can't live like this."