Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has opened up about his world record move and his decision to snub Manchester United.
The former England international joined Newcastle for a fee of £15m back in 1996 but he had the chance to join Manchester United as well.
Shearer has revealed that he spoke to Kevin Keegan and Sir Alex Ferguson on the same day. However, he decided against joining Manchester United after meeting Keegan.
The former Premier League star said (quoted by Chronicle): “Once we got knocked out of EURO 96, I had phone calls left, right and centre. Man United want you, Newcastle want you and I spoke to both of them the same day – Kevin Keegan in the morning and Sir Alex Ferguson in the afternoon.
“After a couple of days Kevin Keegan had said he was en route to the Far East where Newcastle were on pre-season.
“He was at Manchester Airport and he said he could come and meet me again for half an hour, which he did and that was it, I had made my mind up then that I was going home.
“I am going back to my football club that I left as a 15-year-old and I am going to be the world’s most expensive player.
“I never even went back home to my house. I got a bag packed from my house sent in a taxi to the airport and jumped on a flight to meet up with Newcastle in the Far East.
“I had to ring Alex Ferguson up to tell him that I had made my decision. I did that in the car on the way to the airport.
“I rang his number and there was no answer. I rang him again and there was no answer. I rang it for a third time and I had to leave a message that my decision was made and I was going back to Newcastle and thanked him for his interest. I never got a call back surprisingly!”.
The striker went on to become a club legend and although he failed to win significant trophies with Newcastle, Shearer claims that he has no regrets and he would make the same choice again if given the chance.
There is no doubt that he could have won loads of trophies with Manchester United. They were the best team in the country for most of Sir Alex’s tenure.
The Newcastle fans will certainly be pleased to hear these remarks from their hero.
Shearer managed to score 206 goals for them during his ten years at the club. He also holds the record for the most number of European goals (30) with Newcastle United.
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