Newcastle United and Manchester United had quite the rivalry during the 1990s.
Kevin Keegan was prepared to go head-to-head with Sir Alex Ferguson, as the pair battled it out for the Premier League title.
In the end, it was Manchester United who finished ahead of Newcastle United during the 1995/96 season. The Magpies threw away their lead, as Keegan’s entertainers fell short.
In response, Newcastle United bought Alan Shearer for a world record fee of £15million. They even beat Manchester United to his signature, with Shearer choosing Newcastle over the Red Devils.
Was that the right decision? Not in the eyes of Sir Alex Ferguson, who also wanted to sign Shearer in 1992 when he was leaving Southampton.
Sir Alex Ferguson always says the same thing to Alan Shearer
During an interview with Gary Neville for the Overlap in 2021, Shearer spoke about his decision not to join Manchester United.
The Newcastle United legend admitted that whenever he sees Ferguson nowadays, he is always reminded about how many trophies he could have won if he had chosen Old Trafford over St James’ Park.
“He always reminds me whenever I see him about turning down Manchester United twice,” he said.
“I said it wasn’t twice, it was only once. It was in 1996. I couldn’t have signed in 1992 when I was leaving Southampton to go to Blackburn.
“He always reminds me about how many trophies I could have had. What can I say.”
How many trophies Alan Shearer could have won at Manchester United
During his Newcastle United career, Shearer did not win a single trophy. He came close, losing back-to-back FA Cup finals with the Magpies in 1998 and 1999.
During the 10 years that Shearer spent at Newcastle United, Manchester United enjoyed a rich period of success. Between Shearer signing for Newcastle in the summer of 1996 and retiring at the end of the 2005/06 season, Man United won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, one League Cup and a Champions League.
If Shearer had made the move to Man United, he could have won nine trophies.
However, his move to Newcastle United gave him one honour that no one else has. He is Newcastle’s all-time leading goalscorer, finding the net 206 times for his boyhood club.
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