"He is like an elephant who never forgets" - Ex-Premier League star says Alex Ferguson still can't believe he turned down Manchester United
Shay Given has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson has still not forgotten the goalkeeper's decision to reject Manchester United and join Celtic. He claims that the legendary manager brought it up in their meeting at the League Cup final earlier this year.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Given said that he had a trial at Manchester United and was offered a contract by the Red Devils. However, he decided to join Celtic in his younger days. This is because the then first-choice goalkeeper Packie Bonner was 34 years old and easier to compete with while Peter Schmeichel was in his prime at Old Trafford.
Given said:
"I had a trial at Man United 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 so my dad and I felt that was a quicker route to playing first-team football."
He added:
"I left Celtic at 18 and had to go back to Ireland and stay at home for a month or two because I did not have a club before Blackburn offered me a contract."
"If you had have said then when I was back in Donegal that three years later I'd be rocking out at St James' Park in the Champions League with the number one jersey on my back, people would have looked at me and gone, 'Yeah, good one, mate,' because that was just a dream."
Continuing to talk about the legendary Manchester United manager not forgetting the snub, Given added:
"I met Sir Alex Ferguson at the 2023 League Cup final, some 30 years later, but 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 went on to play 69 games for Manchester United's derby rivals Manchester City later in his career. Overall, he faced United 26 times with different clubs, winning just twice.
Sir Alex Ferguson wanted Manchester United to sign Shay Given
Sir Alex Ferguson has remained a fan of Shay Given and asked Manchester United to sign the goalkeeper in 2010 when he was at Manchester City. The legendary manager wanted to test the derby rivals and launch a move in the January window.
Edwin van de Sar was in the twilight of his career and Sir Alex wanted an experienced goalkeeper in his squad. However, a move did not materialize, and the Daily Mirror report that the Cityzens were in no mood to encourage an offer.
Given was not the #1 at the Etihad (then Manchester City stadium) as Roberto Mancini had switched to Joe Hart as his #1. The goalkeeper stayed at Manchester City until the end of the season before joining Aston Villa in the summer.