Jaap Stam has revealed the moment he realised his Manchester United career was over when manager Sir Alex Ferguson told the defender he had agreed to sell him to Lazio.
The Dutch international had angered the Red Devils boss by exposing some of the behind-the-scenes goings-on at Old Trafford in his autobiography, but Ferguson blamed the sale on the defender's poor early-season form.
"My situation proved that if a club wants to get rid of you, you are powerless," Stam told the Mirror. "The only thing you can do is watch while the club sells you like a piece of cattle".
Stam revealed Ferguson did not think he had fully recovered from an Achilles tendon injury and wanted to bring in Laurent Blanc alongside Wes Brown in the United defence.
"There were moments I wished I had never written this book," admitted Stam. He approached the Untied boss to apologise over the book and its newspaper serialisation but it quickly became clear Ferguson wanted him to move on.
"He said he was very sorry, but that he could no longer use my services," Stam said.
PA