I’m a former Premier League star who was forced to turn down Man Utd to serve in the military

FORMER Tottenham midfielder Teemu Tainio has revealed he turned down Manchester United to complete his military service.

The ex-Finland star, 44, joined Auxerre in 1997 and spent eight years with the French side.

Teemu Tainio turned down Manchester United to join the militaryGetty

Tainio ended up becoming a cult hero at TottenhamGetty

He then eventually left in 2005, joining Spurs.

But had he not had to conduct mandatory military service in his home country, he could have ended up with Sir Alex Ferguson at Man Utd.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “I trained for two weeks with Man Utd and it was a great experience.

“I played two games for the reserves and I scored four goals.

“I had to go back to Finland to complete my army service.

“I was supposed to go to Auxerre for a year and then move to Old Trafford. I talked with Sir Alex Ferguson and he wanted to sign me.”

Military service in Finland lasts between 165 and 347 days.

Yet despite some time away from playing to complete his national duty, Tainio returned and eventually secured his move to the Premier League.

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He signed for Tottenham on a free transfer when his Auxerre contract expired and went on to play 83 times for the North London club, scoring three goals.

And he was a part of the team that won the 2008 League Cup, with Tainio coming on as a second-half substitute in their 2-1 win over Chelsea.

He left Spurs and joined Sunderland in 2008, playing 23 matches for The Black Cats.

Spells at Birmingham, Ajax, New York Red Bulls and HJK followed, before he hung up his boots in 2015.

Tainio, who earned 64 caps for Finland, has since become a coach, leading Finnish side FC Haka to the second division title in 2019.

He then had a brief stint as an assistant at Cypriot club AEL Limassol, but was let go in January after just three months in the role.