Gary McAllister, a legend at both Leeds United and Liverpool, has revealed he was turned down by Manchester United as a teenager because of fears he would be too small, despite his family's connection to Sir Matt Busby.
Career that almost wasn't
The former Scotland international went on to win the First Division title with Leeds and make 294 appearances for the club before moving to Coventry City. After four years at Highfield Road, he joined Liverpool, where he played a pivotal role in the treble-winning side of 2001 at the age of 35.
McAllister arrived at Anfield on a free transfer and was hailed by manager Gerard Houllier as his “most inspirational signing”. He scored a penalty against Barcelona in the UEFA Cup semi-final, netted in the League Cup final penalty shootout, and scored in the UEFA Cup final win over Alaves.
Family ties to Busby
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star Sport on behalf of Lottoland football betting, McAllister recalled his trial at Old Trafford and his family's relationship with Busby, who also hailed from the same region of Scotland.
“He (Busby) was friendly with uncles in my family. You have to understand, my family come from a place called Bellshill, and it’s not a big place. Everybody knew each other,” McAllister said.
“So, Matt was obviously a legend in that part of the world. When I went down to Manchester United on trial as a boy, I was going down there for two or three years, from maybe 12 or 13 until I was 15 or 16.”
Aura of a legend
McAllister described meeting Busby as awe-inspiring, noting the Manchester United boss had endured the trauma of the Munich air disaster. “Yeah, I got to meet him. He was a man with an aura. When you walked into a room and he was there, you could feel that he was somebody who was very highly respected and had been a massive success at Manchester United,” he said.
“You know, he went through horrendous trauma as well at Manchester United with the plane crash. It was always very awe-inspiring meeting somebody like that.”
Ironic twist
The reason his trial failed was a belief he would not grow tall enough, but McAllister eventually reached 6ft 1 or 6ft 2. He finds amusement in the irony that he ended up playing for United's two biggest rivals.
“The reason it didn’t work was because they thought I was going to be too small and it turns out I was 6ft 1, 6ft 2. It’s uncanny I ended up playing for their two biggest rivals!”
