Meet the striker Man United released who went on to become a Man City legend well before Pep Guardiola arrived
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Many a footballer have played for both Manchester United and Manchester City.
The likes of Carlos Tevez, Andy Cole, Owen Hargreaves, Jadon Sancho – who Pep Guardiola let go – and Peter Schmeichel have all pulled on the famous red and blue shirts during their respective careers.
Some have fared better than others, with Tevez helping Manchester City secure a first Premier League title in 2012, while Sancho netted just 12 goals in 83 appearances before being offloaded to Chelsea in a £21m deal – a huge loss on the £73m Manchester United spent to sign him from Borussia Dortmund.
However, there was one player who never even received a chance at Manchester United before becoming a legend at Manchester City.
How Manchester United found Shaun Goater
Back in 1987, Manchester United embarked on a tour of the Caribbean.
Hilariously, Sir Alex Ferguson actually subbed himself on for the Red Devils during a 4-1 win against Guayana during this tour, but also, Manchester United stumbled across a young Bermudan striker by the name of Shaun Goater.
The boy from Hamilton – a city in Bermuda with a population of just 854 as of 2016 – was offered a trial, which he passed, and later signed a contract with Manchester United in 1988.
Unfortunately, Goater never reached the first-team at Old Trafford, and was shipped off to Rotherham, where he put his name up in lights with 70 goals in 209 appearances.
A move to Bristol City followed, where he performed even more impressively with 45 goals in 70 games, before he was ultimately offered the chance to return to Manchester, albeit with City rather than United.
What followed was surely beyond even the wildest dreams of that young striker growing up in Hamilton, playing for his local side North Village.
Shaun Goater becomes a Manchester City legend
While things never worked out for Goater in the red of Manchester, he thrived on the blue side.
Despite relegation in his first season – the 1997/98 campaign – the Bermuda international scored 19 goals to fire Manchester City back into the second tier of English football, going on to net 21 in the next term as the Citizens secured successive promotions and he personally received the club’s Player of the Season award.
Goater was consequently awarded the freedom of Bermuda, with June 21st being declared as “Shaun Goater Day” in his homeland.
11 goals ensued in his maiden campaign as a first division player – finishing as Manchester City’s top scorer – but another relegation occurred.
However, Goater – who had now seen a chant created for him by the tune of “Feed The Goat And He Will Score” – became the first player since Francis Lee in 1972 to score more than 30 goals in a season the following year, firing Manchester City back into the big time.
His crowning moment came that following season, when he scored two and assisted another in a 3-1 win over Manchester United, who surely wished he was playing in red that day.
Goater eventually joined Reading in 2003 after scoring 102 goals in 209 appearances for Manchester City, becoming a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to sport.
Had Ferguson never taken Manchester United on that tour of the Caribbean, who knows what life would have had in store for The Goat.
