"I am a little bit shocked, but when your contract is allowed to run out, you kind of know," he told the Evening Post.
"When you go into the meeting you are hoping (it's positive).
"If they were going to offer me something then it was never going to be as good as what I am on now and I don't even know if I would have re-signed, but I didn't even get an option.
"I don't know if it would have been different had we gone up.
"It is so disappointing. I thought I was going to finish my career at Reading and now I'm not. That is the hardest part.
"I love it here. All our friends are here and the family are settled."
The 36-year-old does not plan to move to a different country and is confident he will be offered a deal somewhere else.
He explained: "I still want to carry on playing and I want to stay in England.
"I don't think I'll have a problem getting a new club, but I haven't sorted anything out yet. Signing for Reading was the only thing that I wanted.
"I have had some great years here. From the moment I signed on loan the fans have been great to me and my family."