As Celtic fans, we have been spoiled with the amount of talented footballers we have seen grace the Parkhead turf. Every fan of any generation can list a number of players across the decades as one that brought something special to the team.
And former Manchester United winger, Lee Sharpe, would certainly have brought that.
Sharpe was appearing at the Kris Boyd Annual Charity golf event when he revealed that he once dreamt of pulling on the famous green and white hoops.
Sharpe confessed [The Sun], “Yeah, I think there was a little bit of interest at one point.
“I would have loved to have played for Celtic, to be fair. My home club Aston Villa as well. But it never happened.
“I just liked Celtic, liked the kit. I remember seeing them as a kid. You’re either one or the other. It was probably about the kit.”
Sharpe was at Manchester United for eight years from 1988. During that time he made over 350 appearances for the club.
His career was trophy-laden in the early nineties where he picked up three league titles, three FA Cups, a league cup, the European Cup Winners Cup and the UEFA Supercup. [Transfermarkt]
Which Celtic manager would have signed Sharpe?
Looking at his career, it is more likely that Celtic would have had the opportunity in the early or later stages of Sharpe’s career.
In 1987, Billy McNeill had just taken over Celtic and Sharpe was starting out at Torquay United but he quickly moved to Manchester United for £185,000. [Man United Official Website]
Sharpe quickly established himself at United and after eight years he left for Leeds United for £4.5m, a fee that Celtic probably couldn’t have afforded at that time under Tommy Burns. Fergus McCann had just taken over and was trying to stabilise the clubs finances.
For three years Sharpe struggled at Elland Road and during that time Wim Jansen famously stopped Rangers ten in a row. Another turbulent few years kicked in as Celtic flirted with Jo Venglos and John Barnes before Martin O’Neill finally came in and stabilised the club.
Sharpe would have been 29 years old at that time and coming into the latter stages of his career so he would have been an unlikely target for O’Neill. Especially with the likes of Lubo Moravcik and Alan Thompson at the club.
Sharpe was no doubt a quality player. Unfortunately, he never got his wish to play for Celtic as he retired in 2004.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
