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Alan Shearer has revealed to Gary Lineker why he has no regrets about turning down two offers to join Manchester United.
Sir Alex Ferguson had tried to sign the former striker twice, once when he was at Southampton and again when he was at Blackburn.
The 53-year-old Match of the Day pundit started his professional career at Saints before moving to Rovers in 1992. Three years later he scored an impressive 34 goals to help Blackburn reach the Premier League in 1994–95. title – the only major honor the former England international has achieved in his career.
Shearer would leave Blackburn in 1996 in a then world record £15 million contract, before spending ten seasons at Newcastle.
It was here that he established himself as one of English football’s greatest goalscorers, with 206 goals in 405 games in all competitions for the Magpies.
Ahead of Newcastle’s FA Cup fifth round tie against Blackburn on Tuesday, Shearer was adamant he would make the same decision to snub Man United again. He insisted he had no regrets about turning down Ferguson.
Alan Shearer has explained why he has no regrets about turning down a move to Man United
Shearer would win the Premier League title with Blackburn Rovers in 1994
Sir Alex Ferguson had tried to sign Shearer for Manchester United twice during the striker’s esteemed career
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‘People often say, “Why didn’t you go to Manchester United, you would have won a lot there?” said Gary Lineker on BBC Match of the Day.
But the Newcastle legend replied, shaking his head: “I don’t really care if people believe it or not.”
‘I’ll tell you how it is: if I had to make the same decision again, I would do exactly the same thing again.
‘I had ten incredible years there, it’s my club, my hero was Kevin Keegan, I used to go and watch him.
“So my dream was to score goals at St James’ Park, so to have the record there and the statue and to have everything I have in Newcastle, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
It is not the first time the iconic Premier League striker has spoken out about his decision to snub Man United.
After being inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021, Shearer admitted that despite realizing he would have won more trophies at United, he insisted it was perhaps the best decision he made in his career taken.
Shearer stated on Tuesday that he was adamant he would make the same decision again
The 53-year-old, a boyhood Newcastle fan, declared that ‘scoring goals for the club was his dream’
“I left home in 1985 to go to Southampton to start my career,” Shearer said after being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“It was ten or eleven years ago and I thought, you know what, I’m going back home.”
‘It meant so much to me and I wanted to have some great years at Newcastle where I could still play and not go back to my 30s and not see the best of myself.
‘It was the best decision I ever made. I know I would have won more trophies at United, but the ten years I had there were incredibly special. It was everything I hoped and wanted and more.”