Former Manchester United defender Zeki Fryers has revealed he turned down a three-year contract offer from the club, insisting he made the right decision for his career.
Fryers, now 32, came through the United academy and made six senior appearances for the club, all during the 2011/12 season. After that first taste of professional football, the left-back was offered a three-year deal by the club, but rejected it to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Move to Belgium
At the time, Fryers was 20 and looked set to join Tottenham Hotspur after training with them in pre-season. However, the compensation package required to sign him fell through, allowing Belgian side Standard Liege to sign him without paying a fee.
Speaking in 2012, Fryers explained his decision: "United offered a three-year contract but I rejected the offer. Spurs were interested, but the fee was too much. Then Standard Liege arrived with a good opportunity for me to play regular games and get experience. I thought it was the right time for me to leave and get experience playing in a good league."
Experience and Challenge
Fryers also highlighted the appeal of the Belgian league. He added: "It is a new challenge for me but I think I’m doing well as far as now. The Belgian League is different, but there is a lot of quality. It has developed some great players that are now in the Premier League."
He expressed confidence in his choice, saying: "You never know what will happen in football, but I made the right decision for me. I feel the club would have still brought in a left-back because there was talk of me and Fabio going on loan. For me, every game is more experience."
Fryers played only seven times for Liege before signing for Tottenham in 2013. He spent a single season in north London before moving through several clubs in the lower divisions of English football, and most recently played for Swedish side AFC Eskilstuna.
