Bradley Orr admitted he would have stayed at Bristol City but the contract offer on the table at the time wasn't good enough in light of interest from Neil Warnock at Queens Park Rangers.
The former right-back, 39, made 255 appearances for the Robins over a six-year period before heading for London in 2010 shortly after Steve Coppell's managerial appointment at Ashton Gate.
Orr was a popular figure in BS3 having been a key part of the side that achieved promotion from League One to the Championship in the 2006/07 campaign. Orr then narrowly missed out on securing top-flight football for the first time in the club's history when they lost in the play-off final to Dean Windass' strike a year later.
Speaking of his exit to podcast Undr the Cosh, Orr opened up on the details behind the departure including the Championship play-off semi-final victory over Crystal Palace that first pricked the interest of future boss Neil Warnock. The retired manager left Selhurst Park for QPR in 2010 before making his move for Orr.
He said: "I would have stayed at Bristol City but they were umming and ahing over a new contract and it wasn't enough so I went for a new challenge - the old chestnut.
"It was probably the right time and QPR came in and I went away on pre-season with Bristol City, it was when they just appointed Steve Coppell and he was as good as gold. I told him the situation and he was like 'Just come, and whatever happens the pre-season will benefit you anyway.'
"We went to Sweden and I got a call when I was there that the club had accepted a bid so when I got home it was pretty much done. I'd only met Neil Warnock playing against him.
"I knew he liked me because when he was at Crystal Palace, we had them in the play-off semis and it was when they had Victor Moses and Scott Sinclair on the wings and I did well against them.
"There was an agent who I knew at the time and he said 'he fancies you, you know. If you are going to leave, that's an option.' I sort of knew it was in the back of my mind and I knew he was trying to put something together in regards to getting promoted, probably didn't look like it at the time when I signed but he put a great dressing room of men together. He is what he is, I knew he liked me."
Orr went on to achieve promotion at the Hoops at the first time of asking but made just six Premier League appearances before he was allowed to leave for Blackburn Rovers in the January transfer window. Following a tumultuous time at Ewood Park, Orr had loans at Ipswich, Blackpool and Toronto before deciding to hang up his boots.
The charismatic defender, who now owns a soft play centre with his wife, recalled numerous memorable stories from his time at Ashton Gate during the podcast including his time in jail, his run-in with the 'Swindon Butcher' and how his time inside helped propel his career on the field.
But he also spoke of the time his mate pitch invaded a City match against MK Dons wearing nothing but just Superman pants and a club hat. The game was back in November 2004 when Orr's side had run out 4-1 victors.
He remembered: "I'm mates with these identical twins who are lunatics, great lads but are around the bend and they haven't got a clue about football. They came down to Bristol because it was my birthday night out and we were playing MK Dons. I was going to play and all my mates would then stay over at mine and we'd go out.
"We were winning 4-0 with about 10 minutes and the game stopped and I thought, 'what's going on here?' And there's my mate Ben with his Superman thong on and a Bristol City pull-on hat, doing celebrations all over the pitch.
"The next thing he's running over to me and he's on my back and I'm jockeying him and all the fans are booing him. He's got 'Orr 17' written on his back in permanent marker.
"He gets collared by the stewards and gets a four-year stadium ban and he's like 'sound, I'm not here for football anyway.' I had to say it was my cousin and it was a bit of a prank so he didn't get nicked. The gaffer just laughed it off."
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