'I quit Man Utd for Tottenham despite contract offer – this is why I moved on'

Teddy Sheringham once revealed his reasoning for leaving Manchester United to clinch a return to Tottenham Hotspur despite being handed a new contract by the Red Devils

Teddy Sheringham admitted being able to see more of his son and his disappointment in not playing in the latter stages of the Champions League sparked his decision to leave Manchester United.

The former England international left the Red Devils after four years in 2001, where he won six major trophies, including the Treble in the 1998/99 season.

Despite being 35 years old at the time of his exit, Sheringham was coming off his best year in Manchester, having ended the season as the club's top scorer with 21 goals across all competitions as they secured a third consecutive league title.

His performances earned him a place in the PFA Team of the Year while being awarded both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards.

Having been handed a 12-month contract by Sir Alex Ferguson to continue his stay in Manchester, Sheringham opted to reject the extension in order to return to Tottenham - nine years after he first joined the north London club in 1992.

Speaking at the time, Sheringham - who scored 124 goals in 277 games across both stints at Spurs - revealed the various reasons behind leaving the dominant United, including being able to see more of his young son.

"It was no easy solution but I looked at the situation where I had four great years at United and enjoyed the experience, it's been brilliant, and looked at what was happening at the club and what players were coming in as well as the opportunity of going back to Tottenham," he said.

"It was a great opportunity for me and if I had another year at United, it might not have happened next year. The fact of going back to London and seeing a bit more of my son Charlie was a big draw as well."

Sheringham also pointed out his disappointment in making only a cameo appearance from the bench across United's two-legged Champions League quarter-final tie against Bayern Munich in his last season.

"I told the manager I was very disappointed that I didn't play against Bayern Munich, especially in the first game at home when we had a lot of good results in Europe this year when I'd been playing," he added.

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Sheringham's United departure came shortly after Ruud van Nistelrooy's arrival at the Premier League giants, prompting fans to suggest it was the Dutchman that caused his departure but the Englishman poured cold water on that theory.

"I don't really see him as a contender for my place or me for him, I think he's more like Coley or Solskjaer and I think that the three of them are very similar."

After leaving for Spurs, his former boss in Ferguson paid tribute to the ex-striker as he said: "Teddy was a great servant for us, he did a great job here. I said to him at the time when he was leaving that the offer he was getting from Tottenham, I don't think he could have turned it down. Teddy's proved to be a great buy for them."

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