Celtic’s Scott Brown turned down the chance to move to the A-League.
Western Melbourne chief executive Steve Horvat has claimed to The Scottish Sun that Scott Brown was on the brink of quitting Celtic for the A-League side.
The 33-year-old midfielder, who turns 34 in June, signed a new two-year contract at Celtic last week.
In doing so, Brown, who joined the Hoops in 2007 for £4.4 million [The Guardian], turned down the chance to join the Australian outfit.
He told The Scottish Sun last week that swapping the Parkhead experience for a club starting from scratch wasn’t something that appealed to him.
But Horvat claims that the Bhoys captain was prepared to embark on a new adventure, before Celtic’s hierarchy came in with a last-minute offer that he couldn’t refuse.
He told The Scottish Sun: “In an unprecedented move, the Celtic board met with Scott and gave him an offer too good to refuse.
“He was willing to have a change of scenery and a new adventure. At the 11th hour, they came back with a counter offer we weren’t willing to go with.
“It is a pity because we feel, being football people, we know what he can bring to the club.”
Keeping Brown could be huge for Celtic.
Not only is he a top player, but his experience and leadership could be massive if the Bhoys want to keep Rangers at arms length in the Premiership title race.
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