Harry Redknapp claims his £15m buy-out clause at Tottenham cost him the England job in 2012

Harry Redknapp admits he was left kicking himself by not reading the 'finer print' in his Tottenham contract, which he claims ended up costing him the England job in 2012.

Redknapp, then 65, was the overwhelming favourite to become the next Three Lions boss after Fabio Capello walked out as manager just before the 2012 Euros, given how he had guided Spurs to the Champions League for the first time in their history.

He looked to be a shoo-in for the job but the FA decided to appoint Roy Hodgson as England manager instead, leaving fans confused as to why Redknapp didn't get the nod.

And a decade on, Redknapp believes that it was his 'crazy' £15million buy-out clause in his Spurs deal that put the FA off from even giving him an interview.

'I had this crazy clause in my contract which meant that if another club came after me – or in this case the FA – they would have to pay £5million back to Portsmouth, the last club I was at before Spurs, plus all my wages for my time at Tottenham and whatever was left on my contract,' Redknapp recalled in his new book When Harry Met Sandra.

'It was looking like a £15m buy-out clause… I didn't look at the finer print. I never have, and that is my fault and I should have done. It was a crazy clause, all in Tottenham's favour, but what could I do?'

Redknapp is led to believe that his mammoth buy-out clause was the decision behind appoint 'decent fella' Hodgson, who would've been the cheaper option to employ as a result.

'I just think I would have worked out very expensive for the FA and Roy would have been a cheaper option,' Redknapp adds.

'I am not having a pop at Roy by the way, or running him down. I think he is a decent fella with great experience. I just think he was probably a bit more of the FA's cup of tea than I ever was.

'I was kicking myself over that bloody contract. But, as I say, it wasn't meant to be.'

Hodgson would go on to manage England at three major tournaments but his reign as boss would come to a disastrous end following their defeat by Iceland at Euro 2016, which then saw him return to Crystal Palace.

Redknapp on the other hand dwindled from that turning point in 2012, where he would be sacked by Spurs at the end of the season despite guiding the club to a fourth-place finish.

There would be no Champions League football, though, with Chelsea winning the tournament and taking their place in the following season's competition as a result.

Redknapp would go on to manage QPR and the Jordan national team before bringing the curtain down on his managerial career at Birmingham in 2017.