David Wheater says he never asked to leave Middlesbrough to move to Bolton Wanderers but was glad he did in time as he felt he had 'great years' at the Whites.
The 35-year-old turned out more than 230 times for Wanderers and scored 16 goals after joining the club from Middlesbrough in 2011. He came through the youth team ranks at the Riverside Stadium.
He played more than 150 times for Boro and scored 11 goals between 2004 and 2011. He made the move from the North East club to the Whites in January 2011.
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Wheater is now at non-league side Darlington, having joined the club in February of this year. He originally had a spell with the Quakers on loan in January 2007.
After leaving Wanderers in 2019, Wheater moved to Oldham Athletic played 35 times for the Latics and scored four goals in the 2019/20 campaign. He departed the now non-league side in March of last season.
Wheater says he was always happy at Boro, but that he had to leave for financial reasons at the club after previous boss Gordon Strachan brought in players on big wages. He recalled a conversation he had with successor Tony Mowbray about the defender needing to move on.
He admits he would have loved to have played his entire career at Boro, but relished his move to Wanderers with the club in the top half of the Premier League at that time, and believes it was a good move in the end with 'great years' at the Whites.
Speaking to our colleagues at TeesideLive, Wheater said: “I never asked to leave. I was always happy at Middlesbrough. Strachan brought the SPL down with him and put them all on big wages so a few of us had to leave. Had the situation been different, I'd love to be sitting here having stayed at Middlesbrough my whole career with 5/600 appearances for the club.
“I remember we just finished training one day and Mowbray pulled me and he said, ‘you’re going to Bolton’. I’m thinking, what?! I remember going back in the changing room and getting the league table up and they were like sixth or seventh in the Premier League, so I thought, yeah, it’s probably a good move for me.
“It was hard to leave though. I remember leaving my dad’s to go down to Bolton to sign and my dad said to me, ‘you probably won’t be back here for another 10-15 years’, and he was right.
"It hit me a bit when he said that. But that's football. It was a good move and I had some great years at Bolton, so it was a good move for me."
