Former Northern Ireland international Keith Gillespie has revealed the crucial role Alex Ferguson played in getting him a pay rise when he departed Old Trafford for Newcastle United.
Gillespie, capped 86 times by his country, was a member of the 1992 FA Youth Cup-winning Manchester United side that included the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville.
A move to St James' Park materialised after Gillespie found first-team opportunites limited in Manchester, and he was involved in the transfer that saw Andy Cole come the other direction to Old Trafford in January 1995.
Speaking on the UTD Podcast with presenters Helen Evans, Sam Homewood and David May, the 45-year-old says he recalls how important Alex Ferguson was in helping him get solid terms on his Newcastle contract.
6 September 2006; Northern Ireland hat-trick hero David Healy, left, celebrates with team-mate Keith Gillespie. Euro 2008 Championship Qualifier, Northern Ireland v Spain, Windsor Park, Belfast. Picture credit: Oliver McVeigh / SPORTSFILE"We got to the hotel [in Sheffield], got on the hotel phone and rang home.
"My mum answered and I explained the situation and the manager comes on and said: ‘Look, is it okay if I do the deal and act as his agent?’ She said she was happy enough with that. I remember the manager said to me: ‘When we go in here, don’t say a word’.
"We were on £230 a week and the contract was going up to £250 a week the next year, but I remember sitting at a big round table with Sir Alex, [Kevin] Keegan, Freddy Shepherd, the [Newcastle] chairman, Freddy Fletcher, the [Newcastle] chief executive, and myself, and I was sat with my head down.
"I remember Sir Alex going: ‘Well, Keith’s on £600 a week at the minute and we want you to double it to £1,200’. I sort of looked up and he said ‘£600’ and gave me this look as if to say: ‘don’t say a word here’. And Newcastle agreed to it right away.
"We got £46.75 [a week] as a first-year apprentice. We used to think it was great when you got a win bonus for the A team because you got £4 for a win or £2 for a draw.
"With Sir Alex, even when we signed professional contracts – [David] Beckham, [Paul] Scholes, Nicky Butt, Gary Neville – our first-year contract was £230 a week.
"We had all made first-team debuts and were in and around the first team, but he was a great believer that you had to go to that next level before you started earning the big money. It did keep you grounded."
6 October 2012; Keith Gillespie ,Longford Town, in action against David O'Leary, Limerick FC. Airtricity League First Division, Longford Town v Limerick, Flancare Park, Co. Longford. Picture credit: David Maher / SPORTSFILEGillespie, who also lined out with the likes of Blackburn Rovers, Leicester City, and Sheffield United over a long career, is now a football agent himself.
"It is crazy money that players earn. But, in the same way, good luck to them. It’s not the players’ fault. There is a serious amount of money in the game and it is a short career. Your career can be over just like that if you get an injury.
"Because you’ve played the game you know what a player expects from an agent. I only had two agents in my career.
"The first one I had at Newcastle tried to rip me off when I moved to Blackburn, so I changed agent and had the same one for the rest of my career and he became like a friend.
"I think it’s important to have a relationship with the player. You get these agents who don’t speak to the player for six months and then a new contract comes up or they’re moving and they want to be on the phone to them, whereas you want to build that relationship of trust."
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