Manly legend Steve Menzies admits he's disappointed the Sea Eagles didn't offer him a contract to return to the NRL in 2011.

The evergreen second rower, who will be 37 when he plays for English Super League club Catalans next season, said he would have strongly considered returning for a final swansong with his beloved Manly, if only they'd tabled him an offer.

Menzies said he understands the salary cap pressures the club has to face, but revealed he's struggled to come to terms with playing at an organisation other than the Sea Eagles.

"I was disappointed I had to leave in the first place, I was disappointed last year and disappointed again now," he told AAP after two years with Bradford.

"Only playing for one club in the NRL, I always just wanted to play for them.

"If I had an offer it would have been a hard decision, there's been a bit written in the paper but there was never really any offer or much talk to Manly at all. It was always a 95 per cent chance it was going to be over (in Super League), but I'm really excited about going to Catalans.

When asked if 2011 will definitely be his last season as a professional league player, Menzies tried his hardest to be certain, but couldn't close the door on playing on as a 38-year-old.

It seems playing alongside Cliff Lyons (who played at the highest level until he was 39) for so many years had benefits other than scoring tries.

"Maybe all those passes he threw to me, he's flicked something else onto me, some craziness that I want to keep playing year after year," he said.

"I promise this will be probably, definitely my last one. I can't play again, surely!

Menzies said he had spoken to Brett Stewart since he was cleared of sexual assault allegations during the week.

"It's a great outcome for him and the club, having something like that hanging over you, I don't think any of us can really imagine something like that hanging over your head for such a long period of time," he said.

"I spoke to him the other day and he sounds like a different person so hopefully he can put it in the past and move on and get back to playing footy and scoring tries and enjoying his life."

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