Scott Brown has claimed that he turned down the chance to join Newcastle in the past.
The Scottish midfielder’s Celtic career is set to come to an end, with Brown leaving the Hoops this summer.
Brown isn’t retiring just yet though. He’s set to become a player coach at Aberdeen.
The 35-year-old has had an illustrious career north of the border. He won the League Cup with Hibernian in 2007, before joining Celtic that summer.
At Parkhead, Brown has become a club icon.
He has been a consistent figure in the Celtic midfield for 14 years, winning 22 trophies in total.
We even saw him go toe-to-toe with a former Newcastle favourite in Joey Barton.
But how different would his career have been if he’d played in England?
Brown has been linked with moves to the Premier League multiple times in years gone by. He could even have joined Newcastle.
“I had an opportunity to go to Newcastle and I was out of contract but Lenny (Neil Lennon) was like: ‘I want to keep you as captain, I want to build the team around you, I think we can push on and keep this winning mentality going’,” Brown told Sky Sports.
“We were doing quite well at the time and it was one of those things. I was thinking ‘do I want to talk and stay at Celtic, do I want to go down [to England] and have a fresh start, or do I want to keep winning and show everyone that I am a good player, that I can keep winning and deal with this’.”
In the end, Brown stayed in Glasgow. And based on the reaction to his comments, it looks like he made the right decision.
Some Toon fans have been very forthright in their reaction – they are very glad Brown didn’t join the Magpies.
Brown is a polarising figure, but he is adored at Celtic Park. He has built a legacy there.
Based on fans’ reaction, he wouldn’t have received the same kind of love and adulation at St James’ Park.
Fans are very happy Brown didn’t join Newcastle
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