Harry Redknapp sells ‘paradise home’ he purchased 20 years in the past with out visiting it

Football legend Harry Redknapp has put his house in South Africa he bought 20 years ago up for sale, without EVER visiting it.

Harry, 77, who retired from football management in 2017 after more than 1,400 games as a boss, snapped up the house with a pal in the sun-kissed town of Knysna in 2004.

The 2004/5 season – when he bought the house – was a tumultuous one for Harry.

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He left his job managing Portsmouth to take over local rivals Southampton – much to the anger of Pompey fans – only to return to Portsmouth in late 2005.

When he won the FA Cup with Portsmouth in 2008 in a 1-0 win over Cardiff, he took his players on a safari in South Africa – but didn’t have time to visit his pad at the time.

And in 2011, when he was Spurs boss, he toured South Africa in a string of pre-season friendly games – but again didn’t visit his house.

And this week, Harry revealed that he’s put the house on the market, telling potential buyers it was ‘not expensive’.

Plush four and five bed pads in Knysna sell for around £350,000 – around 8m South African Rand.

Asked about his home, Harry said: “I’ve still never been there, but we (him and wife Sandra) won’t get down to Knysna now.

“So, we’ve decided to sell it as we never used it…it’s been on sale for a couple of weeks now.” He added: “It’s not expensive, property is pretty cheap there.”

He said he’d heard that Knysna was a ‘beautiful place’, adding: “I’ve visited South Africa a few times for football, but this place, which is a five-hour drive from Cape Town is supposed to be paradise.”

Harry has teamed up with sports entertainment company Sorare to challenge players to ‘do a better job’ than him in an online tournament during the Euros.

Armchair fans can take on Harry by creating a team, choosing tactics and playing against other wannabe managers on a new free-to-play game called Sorare Rivals.

Top prizes for the best managers include footie shirts signed by players and tickets to Premier League games.

Harry said: “If you think you can do better than me, come and ‘av a go!”

A spokesman for Sorare said its poll of 2,000 Brits found that four-in-ten reckoned they could do a better job than Gareth Southgate.

He added: “Now’s your chance to put your wits against Harry, the greatest England manager there never was.”