Harry Redknapp opens up to talkSPORT about attempted newspaper sting: ‘I don’t feel foolish!’

Harry Redknapp has told talkSPORT he does not feel foolish after being caught up in the Daily Telegraph’s ‘football4sale’ investigation.

The former Tottenham and Portsmouth boss was one of many people involved in the game to be secretly filmed by undercover reporters who often posed as foreign businessmen.

One of the reports published last week accused Redknapp of being aware that players, of an unnamed team, had all placed a spread bet on themselves to win - violating strict FA rules.

Redknapp branded the allegations ‘nonsense’ and told talkSPORT on Monday that he refused to play along with the journalists’ games during a set up interview.

Speaking to Drivetime, the former manager said: “I don’t feel foolish.

“I got a phone call from somebody who told me there was a Chinese billionaire who wanted to buy a Premier League club and he’d like to meet me in London to discuss the possibility of me becoming the manager or director of football.

“I’m not working anymore, so I thought yeah, I’d go along and meet with these people and see what they’ve got to say.

“But when I got there, there were no Chinese people at all, there are just two other people with the guy who rang me and obviously they were filming me.

“For three hours they were going on about different aspects of the game and buying players, but everything they said I knocked it for six. I didn’t go along with any of it.

“I told them that the best way they could advise their investor would be to buy a club like a Bolton, a Leeds, a Sheffield Wednesday - a club with great tradition, a sleeping giant - take them into the Premier League and suddenly you’ve got a fantastic club with great support. That was my idea.

“I had three hours of these people and I’d never been so bored in my life. I wanted to go home.”

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Redknapp has revealed the allegations were made about his former Portsmouth side and their final game of the 2002/03 season, which saw them win the Division One title and secure promotion back to the Premier League.

Pompey took on Bradford, who had narrowly avoided relegation, in the game in which the violation was alleged to have taken place, but Redknapp insisted it was ‘an impossibility’ that his players could have bet on themselves to win.

“I don’t believe anyone did have a bet,” he added.

“We are already champions of the league and Bradford were at the bottom of the league.

“We were 5/1 on to win - how could the players have bet on that game? Anyone who understands odds or betting would know that it’s an impossibility.”

Listen to a clip of Harry Redknapp on Drivetime above!