Dave Portnoy Reveals What Really Happened Behind 'Call Her Daddy' Breakup

Dave Portnoy is taking us back to the "Call Her Daddy" civil war ... and says one alleged plan nearly turned into Barstool's worst nightmare.

The Barstool boss swung by "TMZ Live" Tuesday to revisit the podcast breakup that broke the internet ... and let's just say he's not buying every version of the story that's been told.

If you think you've heard the whole story that pitted Alex Cooper and Sofia Franklyn against Barstool, Dave says you haven't ... he's sharing new details he says never made it into the headlines.

Dave says Alex and Sofia stopped recording while still under contract ... so he countered with what he calls one of the best deals he's ever offered -- more money, a shorter contract and eventual ownership of the podcast.

But that's just the warm-up ... Dave says Alex and Barstool got back on the same page, but then came the real shocker ... he claims Alex later told him there had been talk of using toxic workplace allegations to get out of the contract -- a revelation he says stopped him cold.

The podcast's demise became one of the biggest media blowups of 2020, with Alex staying at Barstool before signing $125 Million, three-year deal with SiriusXM and Sofia launching her own solo career with her "Sofia with an F" podcast.

Dave's new book, "Cancel Me If You Can," was just released ... so it's no wonder he's going back down memory lane.