Stam claims autobiography was used as excuse for Man United to get rid of him

Jaap Stam's infamously acrimonious departure from Manchester United was not all it appeared according to the former central defender.

Stam was shipped out of Old Trafford after his controversial book 'Head to Head' suggested Sir Alex Ferguson had tapped him up without the permission of PSV.

It caused a huge furore at the time and the rock at the heart of United's defence was abruptly sold to Lazio in 2001.

But Stam believes that the fallout was overplayed in the media and subsequently used by the club to suit their own agenda.

'At the time they [United] used it,' Stam said on the Sky Sports Transfer Talk podcast. 'It was hard from out of the blue to say 'okay we're going to sell Jaap' without any reason.

'It was quite convenient maybe that the book was there at that time. I think it is better to just be straightforward in how it is.'

Another factor in Stam's argument is that United had made some big money signings that summer and were keen to balance the books.

Juan Sebastian Veron and Ruud van Nistelrooy joined that summer with both representing significant outlay for the club.

Ferguson has since admitted that letting Stam leave was a mistake and the Dutchman recalls how surprised he was when it became apparent that he should leave.

'I was completely shocked as to how it was put in the papers, because it was not how it was in the book,' he added.

'Fergie was very open, we just had a conversation and he expressed his feelings about me as a player basically.

'He told me not to worry about it, that he'd had the same with his own book.'

Since his retirement, the 46-year-old moved into management and took the helm at Zwolle last year after two seasons at Reading.