Wolves and Birmingham City tried to sign me when I left Leeds United - but I rejected them to leave England

The forward was among the Italian players signed during Massimo Cellino’s controversial reign as Leeds owner.

He was arguably the most talented one and netted 19 goals over the course of 80 appearances for the Whites.

After leaving West Yorkshire in 2016, Antenucci returned to his native Italy to join SPAL, but he has claimed he had offers to remain in England.

Speaking on Italian podcast MODÌ, with quotes translated by Andrea Russo, Antenucci said: “After I left Leeds in 2016, I had offers from Wolverhampton and Birmingham.

“But because my two daughters were really young, I wanted to return to Italy. In the north of England, it's practically always rainy and windy.

“When I left Leeds, I had three or four offers from Championship sides, but I wanted to return to Italy and so I signed for SPAL.”

Antenucci’s two years at Leeds were marred by turbulence, as off-field chaos regularly placed the club in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

However, the 40-year-old has spoken fondly of his time in LS11.

He said: “The fans dedicated a chant to me, ‘Antenucci baby’. It motivated me. They nicknamed me ‘Fear the Beard’ - I have a tattoo of it on my arm.

“I was fortunate to play for Leeds, a club with millions of fans around the world. There were 2,000 fans coming every week from Denmark or Sweden, going back to Scandinavia after the match.

“In my two seasons with Leeds, we finished mid-table. We were not able to make the next step as a team, but we always had 20-25,000 fans at Elland Road. Leeds is a top club, in a city with a population of over one million and fans basically everywhere.

“English fans, at first, are sceptical towards a foreign player, but once you show them you play for the shirt, they get to know you. They appreciate you and they sing for you.”

Antenucci is still playing at the age of 40, for SPAL, and has struck on 11 occasions in the Italian third tier this term.

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