MELBOURNE midfielder Bernie Vince insists he never wanted to leave Adelaide but that he was "pushed" by his former club.
Vince claimed he was told 2014 would have been his last season as a Crow, regardless of how he performed.
After AFL.com.au broke the news that the 28-year-old had met with Melbourne officials on October 11, a trade was brokered that saw the Demons part with pick No.23 at the NAB AFL Draft in exchange for Vince.
The Crows' crowd favourite told Triple M and Channel Nine it was never his intention to leave Adelaide, but that he was given no choice.
“They let me know even if I had a stand-out season next year they weren’t going to re-sign me any further,” Vince said.
“It has come out that this was my decision ... I don’t think they (the club) want the fans or the media to know they pushed me out of the door.
"But the full team knows the situation.”
Vince played 129 games for the Crows after being drafted at pick No.32 in 2005 and took out the club's best and fairest in 2009.
He averaged more than 20 disposals a game in 2013 and said he was blindsided by mounting speculation in the lead-up to his departure.
“Things were adding up that it was time for me to move on,” he said.
“I called Sando and wanted to know where he stood with things. He did not see me having a long-term future at the Adelaide Football Club.
“Not once did Sando or Nobes (list manager David Noble) say they really wanted me to stay at the club. That was the defining point for me.
“It wasn’t them saying they wanted me to go ... it was them not saying they wanted me to stay."
