Celtic have been blessed with a number of top-class goalkeepers over the years.
From Pat Bonner to Fraser Forster, Artur Boruc, Joe Hart and our very own Celtic hero Kasper Schmeichel, the Bhoys have had top men between the Parkhead sticks.
However, there is one superb goalkeeper that Celtic had in their ranks in Shay Given who, unfortunately, never got the chance to play for his heroes.
Given began his career at Celtic in the early 90s and here, he shares how Peter Schmeichel convinced him to turn down Man United for the Hoops even after Alex Ferguson personally invited him to Old Trafford.
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‘Prime’ Peter Schmeichel at Man United convinced Given to pick Celtic
The 90s was a turbulent period in Celtic’s history but even that did not put off Given from leaving the Theatre of Dreams to walk into Paradise.
Given told The Good The Bad & The Football, “I was training with these guys. They won’t remember this, I was on trial at Man United as a kid as a goalkeeper.
“Sir Alex brought me over and it came down to a choice between Celtic and Man United, and I chose Celtic because of Peter Schmeichel.
“I mentioned this before. Back then Packie Bonner was coming to the end of his career.
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“I chose Celtic basically because, Peter Schmeichel was at 33/34, Schmeichel was in his prime and my dad said the best chance of getting into the first team will be at Celtic before Man United.”
Schmeichel was formidable at United and helped the club become the most feared team in Europe at that time.
The real reason Shay Given left Celtic
Given was a highly-rated goalkeeper and went on to have a great career away from Celtic.
But after rejecting Man United for Parkhead, why did Given then leave before he even made his Celtic debut?
Given told The Open Goal Podcast back in 2021, “My contract was up and Lou Macari wanted to keep four, five or six of us on.
“They offered us all the same contract and my dad said ‘you are not signing that’ – it was horrendous.
“I was going from an apprentice to a pro and it was something like 20 or 30 quid more to sign pro. You’d get more playing in the League of Ireland.
“I had faith in my own ability and if I didn’t make it at Celtic then I would make it somewhere else, albeit that I wanted to stay at Celtic.
Do Celtic players have to deal with more pressure than Liverpool and Manchester United?
Charlie Mulgrew: “No matter what club you have been at. I don’t think you would have ever felt that level of pressure (than at Celtic). Even Manchester United and Liverpool down south.”
“But they said take it or leave it so my dad goes well we’ll leave then. That was as black and white as you could get but he was right at the time. There was no coming back from that, that was it.
“I was getting 100 quid a week as an apprentice and they offered me something like 130 or 150 quid and I had to pay half in digs.
“My dad was quite angry with it really to be honest. We thought that was their opening offer and like in any negotiation they’d come back and offer you more but no it was take it or leave it so it was like alright then, that’s a wrap.”
For the sake of a poor contract, Celtic lost out on one of the best Irish goalkeepers in a generation.
One wonders if the 90s would have been so bleak had Given hung around at Celtic.
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