It has become far too common in recent years for youngsters to leave Celtic in order to join clubs down south or even in other European leagues. It is not uncommon for them to fail to make the grade there either. But in the not too distant past, there were those who turned down the opportunity to play for high-profile clubs in order to stay at Parkhead.
Aiden McGeady is someone who did that. He came through the youth ranks at Celtic and played more than six seasons for the Hoops.
He won seven trophies during that period of time, including four league titles. McGeady was also the PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year on one occasion and won the same award for Celtic twice.
He did go on to leave Celtic for a then record fee. After a spell in the RPL, McGeady made the move down south before ultimately returning to Scotland. His last spell came at Ayr United and he announced his retirment from the game last month at 38 years of age.
Celtic hero explains why he rejected Arsenal and Man Utd
McGeady did have the chance to join Manchester United and Arsenal but chose to remain at Celtic. He has shed some light on why he made that decision. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, he told while speaking to The Herald:
"I think Arsenal was probably closest out of all the teams I went to.
“I went down to Arsenal quite a few times. I’d go down to school holidays and stuff, play a game and come back home. Man Utd and Arsenal were probably the two that I thought they were the ones I wanted to sign for, leaning more towards Arsenal.
“At that age, my dad was like, ‘Look, you’ve got a couple of choices’. I was quite young to make a decision. I still wanted to go to Arsenal but he put it in quite blunt terms. ‘How many players go to Arsenal and make it into the first team?
“You’re going to leave home, you’ll be in digs at 16, you’ll miss your friends, you’ll miss your family. Who knows, within a year, you might back up here anyway? I’m a Celtic fan, obviously, so that swayed it too, but he explained that if I stayed at home, I’d have a good chance of getting into the first team. More of a chance compared to Arsenal or Man Utd anyway."
Looking back, it was probably the right decision on his part. He went on to have a good career at Celtic and then had a solid time down south as well.
Of course, one can wonder if things would have turned out even better for McGeady if he had made the move to Arsenal or Manchester United. But then, one cannot ignore the possibility of him never even making at the top level at the same time.