Hayden rejected Yamaha

Hayden re-signed for Repsol Honda last Friday, despite admitting that he had been in discussions with their bitter rivals Yamaha over a move that would have netted him 3.5 million Euros (£2.4 million) a season – 1.1 million Euros more than he now earns.

The 25-year-old American said that the idea of partnering five-time world champion Valentino Rossi – his Honda team-mate in 2003 - did not appeal to him.

Hayden said: "Yeah, I spoke to Yamaha. If a company like Yamaha make you an offer then you have to talk to them, and I'd had a few issues with Honda so I did consider the offer.

"At one point, I thought it would be the end of my time here, so I talked to Valentino about teaming up, and he liked the idea.

"Let's face it though, you know exactly who is going to be the number one rider with him in the team, and that did worry me a bit."

It is believed that his new Honda contract was only agreed after the company promised to retain its current line-up of engineers and guarantee him at least joint-number one status alongside team-mate Dani Pedrosa.

Hayden revealed that Ducati also made an offer, which would have seen him team-up with Italian Loris Capirossi next season, but that he never really considered it.

He added: "You know what you get with Honda, but with the Ducati option, you don't really know."