Manchester United stalwart Nicky Butt has admitted that his "dire" position at Old Trafford has led to him having thoughts of quitting his only professional club.
The England midfielder, described by Pele as one of the players of the 2002 World Cup, has been restricted to just nine starts by Sir Alex Ferguson this term and did not even make the bench for Saturday's 4-0 win over Aston Villa.
Phil Neville's impressive form, plus the presence of skipper Roy Keane and Brazilian World Cup winner Kleberson, have squeezed Butt out of Ferguson's first-choice side. The weekend return of Paul Scholes from groin surgery, plus the anticipated January comeback of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, will only increase competition for midfield places.
So, while he has no desire to leave United, Butt, who has made over 350 appearances for the club, is facing the unhappy prospect of becoming the second member of the Red Devils' famed class of 92 - David Beckham was the first - to leave.
"My situation has looked bleak this season - I would be lying if I said otherwise," Butt told the Manchester Evening News. "Nobody in their right mind would want to leave this club if they are happy but at times I have thought this could be it for me."
Butt revealed he has had a couple of amicable chats with Ferguson about his situation and the United manager has urged him to be patient and wait for his chance.
However, at 28, the Gorton-born player, who won his 31st England cap against Denmark last month, knows time is not on his side and if he fails to reclaim a regular first-team berth at United, his international place would be at risk ahead of next summer's European Championships.
"I have been playing here for 10 years and I don't want to leave," said Butt. "But at my age I do need to be playing and at the moment things are pretty dire for me.
"Hopefully I have a good few years' left but the last thing I want is to get to the end of my career and reflect that I wasted so much time when I wasn't playing because you can never get it back.
"When you are in this situation, you do start to think about having to play away from United. Maybe it is a bit premature to think that way. I keep getting told all sorts of things about clubs being interested but I won't take any notice until the manager comes and tells me."