Christian Eriksen says his decision to run down his contract at Tottenham made him a “black sheep” at the Premier League club.

The 27-year-old midfielder joined Inter Milan last month for a fee of around £17 million ($22 million), ending his six-and-a-half year stay at Spurs.

The Dane would have been out of contract at the end of this season and had been linked with a move away from London since revealing he was ready for a new challenge after Spurs’ Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in June. That admission prompted some fans to turn on him.

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“I did get the blame for a lot of stuff, for being the bad guy,” he told BBC Sport. “I read I was the bad person in the changing room, that ever since I said I wanted to leave, it was no good me being there.” Eriksen said there was a sense of relief in starting a new chapter in Italy.

“England, for the last few years, was very hectic,” he added.

“After what I said in the summer, it was just about, ‘When is he going to leave?’ Every game it was, ‘Is he leaving? Is he not leaving?’ Of course a lot of people were speaking about it. Even the fans you see on the street were like, ‘Thank you, goodbye and good luck’. But I was still there. It was a bit weird. In my head and for my body, it is good that I am in a new place and I can start again.”

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The Dane said speculation over his future did not affect him but that he felt he played about 30 matches that seemed like “goodbye games”.

“If you have a short contract, you will be the black sheep. Of course, I did the interview. I was very honest. I felt I had to be honest.”

Eriksen confirmed there had been talks with Manchester United but said a move to Old Trafford was never likely.

“It just came down to wanting to try a new challenge in a new country,” he said.

“Once Inter came up it really wasn’t a difficult choice.