The winger, 33, returned to the Tigers in December after nine and a half years away, having cut short a spell with Soyaux Angouleme.

"The French opportunity came up and I thought it'd be something exciting to do," said Varndell, the Premiership's all-time leading try-scorer.

"It probably had the opposite effect of what I was hoping for."

He told BBC Radio Leicester: "The culture change was so different. To go down there with a young family, it was a lot harder. I found the change too difficult.

"When the enjoyment factor goes out the game, I had to make a change. I didn't want to waste the last couple of years of my career at a place where I wasn't enjoying it and my family weren't happy."

'I'm actually smiling every day'

Varndell ended last season with Welsh side Scarlets after leaving Bristol but moved to France in the summer.

After rejoining Leicester as injury cover, he is ready if called upon to make his first appearance for Tigers since May 2009.

"It's an opportunity that I couldn't really pass up, to come back to a club that I love so much," he added.

"The science, the nutrition and the way that's stepped up, coming from France to here, it's quite a shock.

"France is very, very different. In England, the science behind it all is monitored. You forget how well you're actually treated over here, as an English top-tier player. You can become quite complacent.

"I'm just excited to be back in this environment. For the first time in six or seven months, I'm actually smiling every day."