Brown admits exit 'relief'

Wes Brown admits he felt "a bit of relief" after Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson told him to move on at the end of last season. The defender ended a 15-year spell at Old Trafford to join Sunderland having made his senior debut for the Red Devils as an 18-year-old in 1996. But after seeing his playing opportunities decline, Brown felt it was time to draw a line under his time with the club. He said: "You sort of know what's coming anyway. So in a funny kind of way it's a bit of a relief when someone like Sir Alex sits you down and tells you how it is. Sir Alex's decision wasn't a surprise. I think I'd got my head around it. "We had a good chat and everything was fine. In a way, I think it meant we could both draw a line under things and move on."It was a difficult decision to leave. It was really only this summer where things started to come to a head."Brown, who did not feature again for United after being substituted in their victory over Bolton in March, claims several teams were after him.But the 31-year-old defender says he could not resist the lure of Sunderland after talking with manager Steve Bruce, who has also signed Brown's former United team-mate John O'Shea this summer. "A few clubs came in for me, but I spoke to Steve Bruce," he added. "I've known him for a long time and what he was saying about taking the club forward and the players he was bringing in showed the club's ambition."

Source: Team_Talk