Darder left Espanyol a year ago under a cloud, having resigned as captain before the departure.
"I had one year left on my contract and I wasn't going to renew at that time because I didn't see a future project at Espanyol," he told Relevo.
"I said 'let's see how the season goes', which was the one where we were relegated, and we'll see. In the end, probably because I wasn't selfish and wanted to look out for the club's good, I renewed.
"What can you do? You get screwed afterwards. I said that when I want to leave, if it happens, if my head doesn't allow me to stay here, whether we're in Primera or Segunda or wherever, what's going to happen? 'Don't worry, we'll open the door for you' . Afterwards, when you say, 'look, I'm not well, I want to leave', that's when they close the door on you. I think I was too selfless and probably looked out for the club too much, renewing when it wasn't my turn."
The Mallorca midfielder added: "I'm not going to lie, I wanted to leave and I forced my way out , not by forcing myself to put a gun to the winds or not training or anything like that, I simply went to the coach and told him I didn't want to be here."
Regarding his resignation as captain, he explained: "This wasn't made public but I resigned as captain. I told Luis García, if I have to stay I'm not going to be captain. I'm nobody right now, I'm not prepared to be anyone's example in the dressing room because I'm the first one who wants to leave and I resigned."
Despite this, he pointed out that Espanyol will always be in his heart: "I'll be grateful to Espanyol for the rest of my life, I'll always be an Espanyol fan, because for me it's a club that has given me so much."