I’m a Premier League legend but I turned down Man Utd – Sir Alex Ferguson was shocked
NEWCASTLE legend Shay Given has revealed he left Sir Alex Ferguson shocked after rejecting Manchester United.
The 47-year-old had a trial at the Red Devils but opted for a move to Celtic instead.
Given was a boyhood fan of the Scottish side and believed playing for them would benefit his career more at a young age.
He signed for Celtic in 1991 and featured for their youth-team but never made a senior appearance.
Given told talkSPORT: “I had a trial at Man Utd and they actually offered me a contract.
“But I turned them down in favour of a move to Celtic.
“I was a big Celtic fan growing up and United had Peter Schmeichel just coming into his prime whereas Celtic had Packie Bonner, who was 34.
“My dad and I felt that it was a quicker route to playing first-team football.”
Given left Celtic in 1994 for Blackburn after catching the attention of then boss Kenny Dalglish.
The Irishman left and went on to play an incredible 462 times for Newcastle and he was in attendance as the Toon took on United in last year’s Carabao Cup final.
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He bumped into Sir Alex at Wembley and Fergie brought up the incident.
Given explained: “He is like an elephant who never forgets.
“He said to me, ‘I still cannot believe you turned me down to go to Celtic.'”
Given also played for Swindon, Sunderland, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Stoke during his lengthy career.
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