'Always a hero and always a villain' Alan Smith opens up on Leeds United exit and Manchester United betrayal

After hanging up his boots in 2018, ex-Leeds, Man United and Newcastle forward Alan Smith moved to Florida in the United States, since becoming director at the Orlando-based XL Soccer Academy.

The former England international knows a thing or two about coming through the youth ranks having burst onto the scene at Elland Road whilst still a teenager.

An FA Youth Cup winner in 1997 alongside the likes of Paul Robinson, Harry Kewell and Jonathan Woodgate, Smith soon become a household name in West Yorkshire.

Alan Smith: 'I saw the soul ripped out of Leeds before Man United move'

By the end of the 2000/01 season, Smith had scored 33 senior goals for the Whites and made over 100 first-team appearances, all before his 21st birthday.

Leeds were in their modern day pomp, challenging at the summit of the Premier League table, blooding local youth under head coach David O'Leary and competing regularly in Europe. But, the good times were all too fleeting, as significant borrowing led to the club racking up major debts and by 2003, a fire-sale of the team's best players was well underway.

The conclusion to the 2003/04 Premier League season saw Leeds fall out of the top flight and with it key players exited en masse as costs were cut substantially.

Leeds-born Smith was one of the players identified with the greatest sell-on value and for £7 million swapped Elland Road for Old Trafford in a move which some supporters deemed a betrayal.

To this day, Smith's legacy among sections of the Leeds fanbase remains tarnished, while others are more sympathetic to the situation the player found himself in with the club desperately needing to raise funds.

"It was the right decision to go to the biggest club that would want you and, like I said, from a club's point of view, it worked for everyone," Smith said, speaking exclusively to FourFourTwo via the best slot sites.

"The saddest thing for me was that I'd seen the soul kind of ripped out of Leeds at that time. The ownership had changed. Everyone I knew who was at the club had changed, and a lot of the people that I'd grew up with at the club had all had to leave because we were in administration.

"So, [the] Leeds as I knew it as a kid, had changed a lot, which didn't make it any easier because I knew a lot of people had lost jobs."

Smith hit double figures in all competitions during his first season at Man United, scoring 10 times in 42 outings for Sir Alex Ferguson's team. However, the England international would struggle to hit the heights he reached during his time at Elland Road, largely due to an unfortunate record with injuries.

"I don't really speak about it. I definitely don't feel aggrieved by it because I think most people who know, or most people who want to know, know the reason why I left Leeds for Man U. For me, that's football - there's always a hero and always a villain.

"I wanted to go to the best club possible, and it suited everybody. You have to make big decisions at certain times and, unfortunately, big decisions sometimes upset other people. That's the hardest thing," Smith added.

Nowadays, the 45-year-old keeps up to date with what's happening at Elland Road by watching Leeds games on TV. He says he's pleased to see the club competing 'at the top table' once again.

"I'm lucky that I have my brother and his little boy who watch it, so you [still] have that connection to the club even though you're so far away."

Smith also reveals the players from the late-1990s, such as Robbie Keane and Nigel Martyn, are still in contact with each other via WhatsApp.

"We actually have a group chat with virtually all the lads [from the Youth Cup win in] 1997. All the lads that played for the club are all on there, I'd say there's a good 25 or 30 lads that are all on there.

"If something relevant is happening to the club, or somebody's reminiscing about something or like Lucas Radebe got honoured at the game the other day as a club ambassador - so it's all stuff like this which is really nice."