Signed from Werder Bremen on a free transfer back in 2015, Sebastian Prödl spent four and a half years at Watford.
The Austrian centre-back made 85 appearances for the Premier League club during that time, but as the years left on his contract reduced, so did his game time.
The 32-year-old only managed 57 minutes of first-team football during the first half of the season, which led to his contract eventually being terminated.
Prödl subsequently signed for Udinese in Serie A, another Pozzo owned club, where he has yet to make an appearance.
While he’s waiting to make his debut in Italy, the centre-back sat down with Der Standard in Germany to discuss his years at Vicarage Road, as well as Brexit.
Asked how things had been recently at Watford, he said: “The final months weren’t easy. The starting point was an injury and the acceptance that my body is no longer able to go full throttle every day. I wanted to be back on the team at all costs, and my ambitions caused more problems than solutions.
“There was also a manager who didn’t rely on me. It was a dangerous mix. A vicious circle. I’d rather have avoided the situation, but I’ll take the experience with me”.
Speaking of his time in Great Britain, Der Standard asked the Austrian about Brexit.
He replied: “I am very sorry for the British that I could not solve this during my time in London. I tried very hard, but I didn’t succeed. Yes, that’s the only thing I can blame myself for in England”.
On a more serious note, Prödl then moved onto his decision to move to Serie A, where he revealed he could have played in long before this year.
He said: “I had the opportunity to go to Italy before even moving to Werder, but I deliberately chose Germany. First, I wanted to go to a bigger club, and that was Bremen at the time.
“Secondly, it is much easier to adapt in Germany at 20. There were so many new factors I had to adjust to, so I didn’t want to have language as a barrier”.
As for a return to Sturm Graz, where his career as a professional footballer started: “I have been in constant contact with Sturm Graz in recent years. It was a good conversation, but it never went so far that we tased about a contract”.
