Abdoulaye Meite has linked up with Dijon, but would have preferred to have remained in England.
Ivory Coast international had hoped to remain in England
Abdoulaye Meite has linked up with Dijon, but would have preferred to have remained in England.
The former Bolton and West Brom defender has returned to French football following a five-year stint in the Premier League.
He feels he had to move on after enduring a frustrating time at the Hawthorns and is looking forward to helping Ligue 1 new boys Dijon in their top flight quest.
Meite told
L'Equipe: "After being a 19-year-old at Marseille and playing in the Premier League at 25, a new challenge is just starting.
"We will try to build things up and settle In Ligue 1.
"I need to find trust and enjoyment again. At Bolton things went smoothly, but at West Brom I had trouble.
Clashed
"I was not part of Roberto Di Matteo's plans, but I persisted. We clashed and I went to train with the youngsters and sometimes I played for the reserves. When Roy Hodgson replaced him, I came back into the starting XI for a while.
"I took a lot of blows there, but I didn't complain. I had almost the same experience at Marseille, when I became a scapegoat."
While Meite has embraced a move to Dijon, his fasciotherapist - a little known practice designed to prolong a player's career - claims the Ivory Coast international had been hoping to secure a move to another Premier League side.
Stephane Renaud said: "This was not his first choice. He would have preferred to remain in the Premier League.
"He had contacts, but nothing concrete. He also received offers from Turkey and Greece, but nothing persuasive enough."
