Footballing legend Gheorghe Hagi has been discussing the opportunities he was offered in his career, and revealed he turned down a ‘really good’ offer to play for Tottenham Hotspur in 1994.
Hagi, a Romanian international, is widely regarded as the finest player to herald from his country.
The skilful midfielder enjoyed a successful career across Europe, spending time at big clubs including Real Madrid and Barcelona.
A highly decorated player, including seven Romanian Player of the Year awards, you would think Hagi can have little to regret during his playing days.
However, the 58-year-old never played in the Premier League, despite having plenty of chances to do so.
Things never quite worked out for him to make that move, and it sounds like he wishes he had taken up the opportunity when it presented itself.
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Hagi chose Barcelona over Tottenham Hotspur
In an interview with FourFourTwo, Gheorghe Hagi revealed the nature of the offer from Tottenham back in 1994, and why he had to turn that transfer down.
He also explains how difficult it was to reject Kevin Keegan when he was approached by Newcastle.
Hagi said: “I liked Kevin Keegan a lot as a kid – he was one of my idols, too – so I would have loved to play under him at Newcastle, but it didn’t quite happen.
“Tottenham also came with an offer that was really good, but the money didn’t matter so much – when Cruyff calls you in person and asks you to go to Barcelona, it’s hard to say no.
“It would have been great to play in the Premier League, but it probably wasn’t meant to be. I’m sorry it didn’t happen. I believe fans would have enjoyed my style.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Any team would have been improved by the presence of Gheorghe Hagi back in the day, and it’s a shame we couldn’t have enticed him to White Hart Lane.
It would have been great to see the Romanian in the Premier League.
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