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BARRY Robson has revealed several clubs wanted to sign him last season.

The Scotland midfielder was entitled to speak to potential oversees employers once he entered the final six months of his Boro contract.

But there was only one choice for him once he heard of Vancouver Whitecaps’ interest.

“I had a few options,” said the 33-year-old. “Middlesbrough offered me another contract as well, and if I waited it out until the summer, I might have had a few more.

“I’ve played in England and Scotland my whole career, and I’ve always said I wanted to do something different,” he added.

“I spoke in great depth to (head coach) Martin Rennie and (assistant) Paul Ritchie and my wife and we sat and had a lot of long discussions. To be fair, I’m saying long discussions - it wasn’t even that long.

“My wife’s eyes lit up as soon as she knew, and my eyes did, too, and I just thought, ‘Yeah, this is it. This feels right. This is what we’re going to do’, and we managed to push it through.”

Robson is now in Canada and met the Vancouver media in a press conference but is not available for selection until the opening of the North American transfer window on June 27.

He could make his debut at Colorado Rapids on July 4, the day before his former Boro team-mates report back for pre-season training.