Celtic hero claims iconic teammate rejected Newcastle United as ex-Fulham man opens up on Rangers offer

Charlie Mulgrew has described former Celtic team-mate Scott Brown as one of the most underrated footballers that he has played with in his career and claims that his technical ability was often overlooked due to the tough persona that he was perceived to have off the pitch.

Brown spent 14 years at Celtic and lifted 10 Premiership titles between 2007 and 2021 while racking up a total of 407 league appearances for the Hoops. The tough-tackling midfielder was known for his aggressive style of play, his tireless workrate and at times his ability to antagonise his opponents.

However, Mulgrew believes that there was much more to Brown’s game than what he got credit for and adds that he was actually a very calm and relaxed character away from the football field.

During an interview on the Under The Cosh podcast, the 38-year-old explained: Ah, but the thing is, he’s not that type of person at all. Off the pitch, he’s a completely different person.

“That’s just how he gets himself up for the game and gets himself in the mode for it and he gets the best out of his himself.

“But actually, as a person, just chats away, chilled, not aggressive at all.”

Mulgrew is a big fan of Brown as a footballer and claims that he would have been more than capable of thriving in the English Premier League if he had chosen to go down that path. He explained that Brown was the subject of interest from Newcastle United but wanted to remain loyal to Celtic at that time.

He added: “He was very good. He used to talk himself down and he never got the credit for his football abilities. 

“His football abilities were unreal. He could have played English Premier League.

“I think he might have had [had the chance to move to England], but I don’t know. You need to ask him that.

“Well, I think he had a chance to go to Newcastle at one point, and I don’t know what the script was, but he was happy at Celtic.

“He loved playing for Celtic. To be honest, see when you play for Celtic, it’s a hard one because the English Premiership is brilliant, but you’ve got the Champions League at Celtic, and it’s such a big club, it’s a difficult decision to make, I’d imagine, for a lot of people.”

Former Fulham star reveals he snubbed the chance to play for Steven Gerrard at Rangers

Former Fulham and Peterborough United shot-stopper Joe Lewis says he was approached to join Rangers by Steven Gerrard in 2019 but claims he couldn’t turn his back on Aberdeen due to the rivalry that the two clubs share.

Lewis, who starred for Aberdeen between 2016 and 2023 before retiring, told the Daily Record: “We played Rangers away and we lost 2-0 at Ibrox. I had a really good game. 

“Rangers made contact with a few people after that game and so I was aware of their interest. They had asked a few questions and knew I was into the last year of my contract. 

“I had verbally agreed to an extension with Aberdeen and I wasn’t going to go back on that. Rangers are a big club but I wouldn’t have felt comfortable going to there from Aberdeen.

“It wouldn’t have felt right and also I had verbally agreed a new deal with Aberdeen. I also didn’t want to impact my standing at Aberdeen or to cut ties with people and supporters who I had become friends with. Yes, the interest was flattering and the money would have been great, I’m sure.

“I spoke to Derek and he was also aware of Rangers’ interest. So he got me in and the following day I signed my new Aberdeen deal. I was happy at Aberdeen. I’m a man of my word.”