Lee Cattermole has revealed that he left Sunderland because he did not want to have to play in the third tier of English football for another year.

The midfielder ended a ten-year association with Sunderland - during which time he made 261 appearances in all competitions for the Black Cats - in the summer, following the club's last-minute 2-1 defeat to Charlton Athletic in the League One play-off final at the end of last season.

Since then, Cattermole has signed a one-year deal with VVV-Venlo in the Dutch Eredivisie, although it seems as though things could have been different had Sunderland come out on top in that clash at Wembley back in May.

Speaking in an interview with Dutch magazine Voetbal International about his departure from Sunderland, Cattermole was quoted as saying: “I enjoyed playing last season, and played well.

“But the prospect of another year in the third tier did not make me happy. At Sunderland, I experienced so much in all those years.

"A lot of hassle behind the scenes, lots of managerial changes, beautiful games. We won the derby against Newcastle United six times in a row! But since signing my last contract, in the Premier League, the situation had changed quite a bit."

Explaining how his departure from Sunderland came to be, Cattermole - who had had another year remaining on his contract at The Stadium of Light - continued: "Last summer the club took the initiative for a discussion about the future. We came to the conclusion that it was better for both parties to separate. We shook hands, then I was free to explore the world."

So far this season, Cattermole has made five appearances for Venlo, who currently sit 12th in the Dutch top-flight.

Sunderland meanwhile are fifth in League One, after winning five and drawing four of their ten league games this year.

The Verdict

This is quite an interesting revelation from Cattermole.

From what he is saying, it appears as though promotion to the Championship for Sunderland last season may have been enough to keep him at The Stadium of Light, from the perspective of both the club and the player.

Given the length of time that Cattermole had spent with Sunderland, you imagine it won't have been easy for him to make the decision to leave the club.

However, I do understand his desire to look for new opportunities, particularly with a club from abroad such as Venlo, given he had never previously played outside of England in his career before.

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