Harry Redknapp: 'Compensation stopped England move'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 07 October 2013

Queens Park Rangers boss Harry Redknapp believes that the issue of compensation is the most plausible reason why he was never offered the England job.

Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp has expressed his belief that compensation was the main reason that he was never offered the England job.

Redknapp was widely tipped to replace Fabio Capello as manager of the Three Lions following the Italian's departure last year, but the job was eventually offered to Roy Hodgson instead.

However, the 66-year-old, who was in charge of Tottenham Hotspur at the time, believes that the main stumbling block for the FA was the amount of compensation that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy would have demanded.

"I'm sure the FA would deny they were interested in me anyway, they always like to say they got their number one choice, but maybe what helped make their minds up was the thought of writing a cheque in the region of £16m to Levy," Redknapp wrote in his autobiography, which is being serialised by the Daily Mail.

"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."

Redknapp also branded the FA as clueless for their handling of the situation.