Peter Crouch admits being replaced by Emmanuel Adebayor at Tottenham was a low point in career.
Chairman Daniel Levy made the decision to let Crouch join Stoke after a deal was agreed to take Adebayor to White Hart Lane.
Speaking on Paddy Power’s From The Horse’s Mouth podcast, the 39-year-old said: “Being let go by Tottenham for Emmanuel Adebayor to come in was tough for me.
“I don’t blame Harry Redknapp at all. I think he would have had 10 strikers if he could, but the chairman had to balance the books.
“It was me or Adebayor at the time, and I just felt that I had done well for Tottenham and I got discarded a little bit.
“We’re bringing Adebayor in and you’re out. I get it, they got a good offer from Stoke, but I was happy, and I didn’t want to leave. I was 30 and they got a lot of money for me so I totally get the club’s decision.
“There is no bad feelings and I’m only joking when I say, ‘stabbed in the back’, but it was just disappointing that it ended that way because I felt like we had a good side and I could have been part of it a bit more.
“Having said that, although I didn’t want to go at first, I went to Stoke and had eight years there. I actually loved it and it worked out really well for me.”
Crouch, who was raised in west London, added that he would one day fancy a stab at managing QPR.
He spent a season with the R’s before going on to play for England and the likes of Spurs and Liverpool.
“I’ve always wanted to go back, having started out there as a kid, and always thought I would go back as a player,” he said.
“It was one of the best times of my life and I always wanted to go back and do that again.
“Obviously it would be very different now but I’d still get that buzz.
“If I had to manage one, it would be good to go and manage QPR.”