Ballon d’Or winner admitted he would have joined Newcastle United if he knew they were interested

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Newcastle United came extremely close to signing a Ballon d’Or winner when Kevin Keegan was in charge.

Newcastle United fans have been treated to plenty of legendary forwards over the years, including record club goalscorer Alan Shearer.

In the current Newcastle squad, Alexander Isak is on his way to becoming a Magpies legend with Shearer hailing Isak as “world class”.

The likes of Jackie Milburn, Peter Beardsley and Andy Cole have also starred in the famous black and white.

There have also been some flops, and Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen is right up there with the worst. Owen “really regrets” joining Newcastle and fans will feel the same way after his petty refusal to play.

There is another Ballon d’Or winner who nearly made the move to St James’ Park, and unlike Owen, it seems he was keen on the move.

Newcastle United nearly signed George Weah

Rewind to 1995 and Newcastle were a major force in English football with Kevin Keegan at the helm.

After a third-placed Premier League finish in the season prior, Newcastle were targeting league glory in 1994/94 but Keegan made the stunning decision to sell Cole to Manchester United in a British record transfer.

Newcastle eventually replaced Cole with Les Ferdinand, but Keegan first tried to lure a Ballon d’Or winning striker to St James’ Park.

As reported by WhatCulture, Keegan wanted to sign George Weah as his first-choice replacement for Cole.

At the time, Weah was a star at Paris Saint-Germain, where he won one league title and three domestic cups.

However, a gentleman’s agreement between PSG and AC Milan ruled Newcastle out of the race for his signature.

George Weah wanted to join Newcastle in 1995

Weah went on to win two Serie A titles with Milan before joining Chelsea and Manchester City in the latter stages of his career.

He was awarded the Ballon d’Or in 1995 – the same year Keegan wanted to bring him to Newcastle.

Weah went on to enjoy a legendary career, but looking back he has admitted that he was enticed by a move to Newcastle.

READ MORE: Striker that Newcastle United failed to sign for £15m is now the Champions League’s top scorer

“I wanted to weigh up all possibilities and would not have signed the paper in Milan if I had known Newcastle were interested,” he said.

Unfortunately, Newcastle entered the race slightly after a move to Milan was agreed. Otherwise, Weah would have added his name to the list of legendary Newcastle strikers.