Ex-£8m Leeds United and Chelsea striker 'wasn't bothered' about Sunderland after Rangers transfer

Former Sunderland chairman and owner Sir Bob Murray has opened up about the 2002 transfer of Tore Andre Flo to the Black Cats from Rangers.

The striker was sold by Rangers to Sunderland on transfer deadline day at the beginning of the 2002-03 season for a figure of approximately £8.2 million with Marcus Stewart also joining the Wearsiders under then-manager Peter Reid.

Reid had been under pressure throughout pre-season for his failure to buy a big-name striker as a long-term replacement for the ageing Niall Quinn and turned to Flo as the solution to Sunderland's striking problem, but the deal didn't work out.

Flo played 29 league games for Sunderland and scored just four goals for the club as Reid was sacked and replaced by Howard Wilkinson and then Mick McCarthy during the disastrous relegation season.

"We had started the season and we had won somewhere. Leeds or something. Then, right at the death of the deadline day Peter (Reid) wanted (Marcus) Stewart, who was a proven player and (Tore Andre) Flo. Two proven frontmen," former chairman Murray told The Echo about Flo's transfer to Sunderland.

"Flo was a phenomenal cost and he didn't want to be here. It was quite obvious that he didn't want to be here. He had moved and had no desire to be here. He had been at Chelsea and Rangers and he was at the end of his career.

"The body language everything, the whole thing. He was a fortune, the wages too. He wasn't bothered. I phoned my friend David Murray who I have known for a long time at Rangers, he sold me him.

"I rang him up and said: 'How dare you sell me that plank for £8million.' And he said, 'Bob, I paid £13million for him.' Obviously, it was a bad season."

Flo then moved to Serie A after the Black Cats' relegation, then later enjoying stints at Leeds United and MK Dons.

Sir Bob Murray's new tell-all book, I’d Do It All Again, is now available for £20 at www.sirbobmurraybook.com, or from at the Beacon of Light and SAFC stores. All proceeds go to the Foundation of Light.