Bolo Zenden played for some of Europe’s most fashionable clubs but it is in the unglamorous surroundings of the North East that he has made his mark in English football. Chief Sports writer Luke Edwards reports

BOUDEWIJN Zenden has brought plenty to Sunderland during his two years on Wearside, but he is leaving because they have not been able to give him enough in return.

At 34, Zenden, who helped Middlesbrough win the Carling Cup in 2004, is no longer the player he once was, but that does not mean he does not still want to play.

Popular with his team-mates and richly appreciated by his manager, the Dutchman could have stayed put.

Unfortunately for Steve Bruce and Sunderland, Zenden does not want to be a glorified coach, an extension of the manager’s staff with the pretence of a squad number.

He does not want to look after Sunderland’s young players, guiding them and nurturing them, he does not only want to be a role model for those who keep him out of the side on a match day.

Whereas the likes of Darren Bent have abandoned the Black Cats for more money – a cold financial decision no matter what he might claim in his defence – Zenden’s is purely down to football, or rather a lack of it.

It was a tough decision. He was happy in the North East, he is still enraptured by English football and enthralled by the battles of the Premier League, and he has made plenty of friends at the Stadium of Light. But with only a few years left as a player, Zenden intends to make the most of any swan song.

He does not know where he will go. There is not a move lined up and he hasn’t received any offers. He would like to stay in England, but he misses playing in Europe. He will see where the journey takes him. He knows it could be a mistake.

“It probably came down to the amount of game time,” said Zenden, who played 54 times for Holland in his prime. “What they sometimes say is – and it’s also in a movie – is that life is like a box of chocolates. It’s the same thing, you don’t know what you’ve got or what’s going to come. It might be better, worse, the same.