Former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland defender John O’Shea has revealed how he almost joined Celtic at the beginning of his career.
Joining as a youngster, the defender went on to play over 390 times for the English giants under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
During his time in Manchester, O’Shea also went on to win a host of trophies, including the Premier League title five times and the Champions League in 2008.
However, things could have been very different for the 119 times capped Irishman.
Speaking in an interview with World Football Index, O’Shea revealed that he was ‘very close’ to joining the Hoops before Manchester United came in at the 11th hour to beat Celtic to his signature.
The 41-year old opened up on how it often still crosses his mind to this day and what his career would have been like had he made a move to Glasgow.
When asked about how close he was joining the Bhoys, he told World Football Index: “Very close. Very close indeed. Willie McStay contacted me, and the club pushed to sign me.
“I was very close to joining Celtic. Many of my friends over the years have joined Celtic and played for the club, and I thought I was heading there.
“However, then Manchester United came in at the eleventh hour, as they say, and it just felt right.
“Celtic still crosses my mind to this day, and I often think about how different my career and my life could have been should I have gone there.
“Celtic is such a special football club, but I have no regrets as, thankfully, things worked out very well for me at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson.”
O’Shea isn’t the first Irishman to have slipped through Celtic’s hands
Of course, O’Shea isn’t the first Irish internationalist to have slipped through Celtic’s hands across the years.
Players such as Shay Given and Seamus Coleman come to mind, having spent short spells at the club in the academy or on trial but not going on to anything more with the club.
In this case, there wasn’t much that the club could do, trying to compete with one of the biggest teams in the world, where the defender went on to enjoy a lot of success.
It certainly would have been interesting to see how the career of the experienced Irish defender turned out had he taken Celtic’s offer or if United hadn’t stepped in at the last minute.
In other news, Cameron Carter-Vickers advised to say yes to Celtic.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
