A choice between Celtic and Manchester United as a rising Irish star in the 1990s wasn’t easy. But Shay Given picked the Hoops – and Sir Alex Ferguson STILL won’t let him forget it.
Former keeper Given is a bona fide Premier League legend having played 462 times for Newcastle and starred for Aston Villa and Manchester City. But it’s often forgotten he was a youth player at Parkhead, before Kenny Dalglish took him south to Blackburn to launch his career.
He joined the Hoops as a 15-year-old in 1991 and spent three years rising through their youth ranks. He picked them over United, where Ferguson wanted to recruit him and even offered him a deal. He was asked on the Anything Goes podcast why he rejected Ferguson for Celtic and said: “A couple of reasons. Liam Brady was the manager, he was Irish. Pat Bonner was the goalkeeping legend in Ireland, he was from Donegal as well. The other big reason was Peter Schmeichel had just joined Manchester United, and my dad was of the opinion that once I left, he wanted to get me into the first-team as soon as I can.
“Bonner was 33 or 34 at that time, so he felt he didn’t have long left, at the back end of his career and maybe coming to an end. There was more of an opportunity to get into Celtic’s first-team (than Manchester United’s), and that’s what it came down to.
“A lot of people would have been sidetracked with Man United, one of the biggest clubs in the world, and Sir Alex Ferguson was an absolute legend.
“Why wouldn’t you go there? But my dad had a clear vision, he said ‘this is your career, this is your pathway, this is where you want to go.’ So he was a big influence on me.
“Years later, Nicky Butt asked me to play in this game at Salford after he opened a new stand there. It was Salford vs a Legends XI or something. Fergie was our manager. He came into the dressing room and he goes ‘I can’t believe you turned me down at 15!’
“It was 25 or 30 years ago! How does he even remember that?! But he always says his biggest thing is his memory, he doesn’t forget anything. What a legend he is. He’s still going strong, for sure.”
He later bumped into Ferguson at the 2023 Carabao Cup Final and was reminded of it yet again. Given said on talkSPORT in 2023: “He is like an elephant who never forgets. He said to me, ‘I still cannot believe you turned me down to go to Celtic.'”