Former Wolves goalkeeper John Ruddy has said the club had an option to extend his contract at Molineux.
The veteran stopper sat down with Talking Wolves to conduct a fascinating interview about his five years at the club.
Ruddy departed Molineux earlier this summer, with Matija Sarkic replacing him as the number two.
Recently, Ruddy admitted he could have left Wolves much sooner, and that he did not expect to be sat on the bench as much as he was.
At the time of his exit, it was being reported that Wolves officials decided against offering him a new contract. And it was claimed that Bruno Lage had wanted to retain Ruddy for another season.
The star set the record straight on that in his Talking Wolves interview.
He said (29:25): “They actually had an option on me. And I didn’t know that. I had a meeting with a couple of people at the club who had said ‘what’s your thought process’. I was like ‘if I can go and play first-team football then great, but whatever is right for the club and myself is the best route’.
“They came back and said ‘we’ve got an option’ and I was like ‘if you’ve got the option then it’s in your court, if you take it you take it, if you don’t you don’t’.
“We got to a point, this was probably six or seven weeks before the end of the season, where they said we’re going to take the option.
“The day before the end of the season was the day they had to confirm the option. The day before Liverpool. I found out they were rescinding the offer and that they weren’t going to take the option up.”
Ruddy adds that he has no issue with the actual outcome. It was the way it was handled which was the ‘biggest problem’ for him.
Poor handling from Wolves over John Ruddy
It is a shame to hear how Ruddy’s departure came about at Wolves.
He was a fantastic servant for the club, and played a big part in the club being an established top-flight club.
That he was told he would have his contract extended and then have that offer rescinded is poor from the club.
It is not clear why the offer was rescinded. But the nature of his exit does explain the tone of his exit message on Instagram, which he touched on in his Talking Wolves interview.