Redknapp believes compensation was key factor in Hodgson appointment.
Harry Redknapp believes he was overlooked for the England job because Tottenham were demanding £16m in compensation.
Redknapp was favourite to succeed Fabio Capello as England manager after the Italian’s resignation in February 2012 but after months of fevered speculation about the then-Spurs boss, Roy Hodgson was handed the job in May.
Tottenham won just once in 10 matches and missed out on Champions League qualification following Capello’s departure and many Spurs fans blame Redknapp for taking his eye of the ball. t
The 66-year-old, who is now in charge of QPR, consistently claimed he was focussed on Spurs but has admitted he wanted the England job.
“I know some of my positive comments at the time about becoming England manager upset Tottenham, but I was only speaking honestly. I was not revealing any state secrets there. It is the pinnacle of your career,” Redknapp wrote in his autobiography, serialised by the Daily Mail.
“I think Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy felt I was being disloyal for saying this, particularly as Tottenham had offered such fantastic support throughout my tax evasion court case earlier in the year. But that was one of the reasons I didn’t see any harm in making an open statement.
“I still don’t see why that came as a slap in the face to them. Then I heard the news on the radio: Roy had been offered the England job.”
Redknapp admits that Hodgson is ‘more [the FA’s] cup of tea’ than himself but believes the main reason he was overlooked was a £16m release clause in his Tottenham contract.
“I’m sure the FA would deny they were interested in me anyway, they always like to say they got their No 1 choice, but maybe what helped make their minds up was the thought of writing a cheque in the region of £16million to Levy.
“He is known for driving a hard bargain at the best of times; get Daniel on a bad day and I would have ended up more expensive than Capello — and the FA were already getting a lot of criticism over his £6m-a-year salary.
“Of all the reasons doing the rounds for me not becoming England manager, the compensation issue makes most sense.”
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