Jamie Cureton has revealed why he rejected the chance to join Manchester United as a teenager, potentially missing out on becoming part of the famous Class of 92.
The former Norwich striker was offered a move to Old Trafford at 14, but chose to stay with the Canaries.
Jamie Cureton was a Manchester United supporter growing up, but his father left the decision entirely to him.
“Sir Alex Ferguson rang my house and put an offer on the table,” Cureton said on Hawksbee and Jacobs. “I was a Man United fan, but my dad never put me under any pressure. He said, ‘it’s your decision.’ I was 14.”
Jamie Cureton felt Norwich offered a better path
Cureton had already spent a year or two at Norwich and believed the club provided a clearer route into first-team football at the time.
“I was at Norwich and had been at Norwich for a year or two, and I was quite comfortable,” he explained.
“Man United, up until that point, were buying players, and I felt I had a better opportunity going there and playing.”
Cureton eventually made his Norwich debut aged 19 and even faced United at Old Trafford, something that convinced him he had made the right decision.
“It was the Class of 92, so I would have been in that group. The one thing they never had was a centre-forward, and I would have been it.”
Despite rejecting Ferguson’s offer, Cureton said the United manager continued to follow his career. He recalled Sir Alex Ferguson mentioning him during Lee Martin’s testimonial while Cureton was playing for Bristol Rovers.
Cureton went on to make nearly 1,100 appearances and score 402 goals across his career.
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