Former England winger Stewart Downing has revealed the broken promise that led to him leaving boyhood club Middlesbrough with ‘a bitter taste in his mouth’.
The 36-year-old, who is currently playing in the Championship for Blackburn and previously spent time at Liverpool and Aston Villa, featured over 400 times for Boro across two stints before being told to find a new club despite a handshake agreement he would be offered an extension.
It all played out as he helped earn the club promotion back to the Premier League.
“Tony Pulis tried to get me a new deal, I think it was a two-year deal, maybe be part of the academy staff (after), and I said ‘yeah that’s perfect for me, I’ll take that all day long’,” Downing explained on Optus Sport’s Two Sharp Reds podcast with Mark Schwarzer and Ollie Geale.
“This goes on for six months, but I had a clause in my contract that if I played 23 games, I get another extension.
“I got to 22 games and we were playing on New Years Day, and Pulis pulls me in with Jonathan, my brother in law, and he didn’t even know. They’ve had a phone call in the morning from (owner and chairman) Steve Gibson to say ‘Stewart can’t play anymore, can’t start, he’s not getting that new deal’.
“I said ‘right, you’ve left it right until the last game to do this, you’ve known for six months, why didn’t you tell me?’.
“He was embarrassed really, Pulis. I was an important player for him, playing every week, and he said to me ‘you can’t start, but any chance I’ll put you on.’
“It got to a point when there were about 10 games to go and Pulis said to me, 'if you sign this waiver, the club will offer you something in the summer'. Steve Gibson literally promised me, we had a meeting and he said ‘if you sign this waiver to play the last eight games to try and get us promoted, I’ll offer you something in the summer – a reduced contract’.
Downing continued: “I said right, we shook hands, I signed the waiver, played in the last eight games, and then (CEO) Neil Bausor rang me and said 'you’re free to speak to other clubs, you can leave'.
“That left a bitter taste in my mouth. A local lad, played over 400 games (for the club), come back, got promotion and then bang.
“My dad spoke to the chairman and it didn’t end well. A naughty conversation. It was a massive fallout.
“Unbelievable. I’d helped him, I’d signed a waiver, I was going to take a reduced contract. I was home, I was settled.”
“I’ve been back once, played against them with Blackburn. I got an amazing reception, got clapped before the game and came off with 10 minutes to go and got a standing ovation. I was thinking, why didn’t they do that when I was there? I was getting booed the last season!”