Tottenham to Man Utd transfer was 'not a tough call' in brutal admission from star

Teddy Sheringham has revealed that leaving Spurs for Manchester United was anything but a difficult decision. The 58-year-old forward spent five years at Tottenham before sealing a £3.5 million move to Old Trafford in 1997 to join Sir Alex Ferguson's powerhouse side - featuring the formidable Class of '92 stars like Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, and Ryan Giggs.

Sheringham discussed the transition from his lengthy tenure at Spurs being far from intimidating, as he found the ambition at Manchester United aligning more with his own. Sharing insights on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football with Jamie Carragher and David Jones in 2022, Sheringham said when asked about his switch being tough: "No, not at all.

"I mean, it's a long story about me and my Tottenham career but I didn't think the club were as ambitious as what I wanted them to be, and I just felt that it was the right time for me to leave. I didn't know that Manchester United were going to come in for me.

"I was just hoping that a bigger club and a better club where I can go and play with top players would come along for me. And lucky for me, United did." Meanwhile, reflecting on what he valued more, scoring goals or clinching trophies, Sheringham provided his personal take on his impressive football journey.

The football icon explained: "I wanted to play with the top players in the world. I wanted them to come and play with me at Tottenham, but that was obvious that wasn't going to happen. So I decided that this isn't going to work here. My ambition is I wanna go bigger and better, so I'm thinking I'm going to have to leave to do that."

Sheringham also discussed his pivotal move to Manchester United after Eric Cantona's departure. Carragher probed: "Initially when you come in, you're brought in to replace Cantona - he was a god at Manchester United, he still is now. How was that for you coming in? I think you were 31 at the time, great experience, big England player - but how did you find that? "

Remaining unfazed, Sheringham answered confidently: "Fine. When I went to Tottenham I followed [Gary] Lineker - he'd just left. When I joined England, Peter Beardsley had just come to the end of his career - you could look at it and go 'Filling them shoes, that's tough'.

"If Fergie wants me to go to Man United and play for Man United, I'm going. I don't care who I'm following. If he thinks I'm good enough to play for them, I'm going there and I'm going to show you what I can do."

Sheringham's illustrious career at Manchester United saw him net 46 goals in 153 appearances, winning three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, a Charity Shield, an Intercontinental Cup and a Champions League. However, in 2001 he made a return to White Hart Lane for two years, before moving on to play for Portsmouth, West Ham and Colchester United.