Several clubs, including United were bidding for his services, but the incentive of staying in the Premiership tipped the scales in Stoke’s favour.
The 31-year-old said: “I decided to go for a fresh challenge and spoke to (manager) Tony Pulis a few times. He sold me the club.
“There were a few other clubs interested, but Stoke are in the Premier League, they reached the FA Cup final and got into Europe.”