Gary Lineker has admitted he almost joined Manchester United over Tottenham Hotspur when leaving Spain back in 1989.
The 54-year-old has spoken out about his departure from Barcelona after a three-year spell, having already impressed for Leicester City and Everton. After netting 52 goals in 138 appearances for the Catalan outfit – also lifting the Copa del Rey and European Cup Winners’ Cup – Lineker opted for a return to English football.
With his 1986 World Cup Golden Boot still fresh in the mind, he joined former Barcelona manager Terry Venables at White Hart Lane, scoring a further 80 goals while lifting the FA Cup in 1991.
However, Lineker almost headed to Old Trafford in a late switch, after his agent entered discussions with Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United boss at the time. The move would have seen him reunited with Mark Hughes, who had joined from Barcelona earlier in the season, and he did consider the possibility.
“I was quite open-minded about my next move,” he told FourFourTwo. “It looked like I was going to Fiorentina for a while, but then Sven-Goran Eriksson left and so did Roberto Baggio, so that option went away.
“Then Terry Venables came along and did a deal with Barcelona very quickly. Right at the 11th hour it suddenly appeared that Spurs might not be able to do the deal, financially. That’s when my agent spoke with Alex Ferguson.
“It was close to being done, but then Tottenham came back and said they could do it. You have to remember that the Manchester United of 1989 weren’t the Manchester United of four or five years later.”
Gary Lineker was also an influential figure in the national set-up, scoring 48 goals in 80 appearances.
