I rejected Manchester United to sign for Rangers; it was the biggest mistake of my life. – Ex-Rangers midfielder

Billy Davies Reflects on Rejecting Manchester United for Rangers as His “Biggest Mistake”

Billy Davies, a former midfielder for Dunfermline and Motherwell, has described his decision to turn down Manchester United in favor of joining Rangers as the “biggest mistake” of his life.

As a schoolboy, Davies was offered a lucrative five-year contract by then-Manchester United manager Dave Sexton. However, the Glasgow-born teenager, feeling homesick, chose to return to Scotland and sign an identical deal with Rangers. Despite making his professional debut for Rangers at 17, his opportunities were limited during his six years at the club.

After leaving Rangers, Davies played in Sweden for Jönköping and Elfsborg before returning to Scotland for spells with St Mirren, Leicester City, Dunfermline, and Motherwell. Yet, the former Scotland international often reflects on what could have been if he had stayed at Old Trafford, particularly as the club achieved great success under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Recalling his time at United, Davies shared:
“I got taken down to Manchester to the training ground and was down there from 12 until about 16 years old. I was mingling with the first team; it was great. The manager, Dave Sexton, he had a team full of Scottish guys in Arthur Albiston, Gordon McQueen, and Joe Jordan. It was such a wonderful place to be.

“They offered me a five-year contract… but I went abroad with the youth team and took a bit of homesick and told Dave Sexton that very sadly I’d decided to stay home and sign a five-year deal with Rangers.

“It was a terrible decision for me. I was young, I was naive, I took homesick and I made a decision. But the club were fantastic. Dave Sexton was fantastic with his coaching. Every day going down to the training ground at the Cliff with all the first team boys like Lou Macari, Sammy McIlroy, and Frank Stapleton, they were all there every day, and we would sit beside them at lunchtime. I’ve got to say it was a great experience. It’s a wonderful club. A great place to be. [Leaving] was the biggest mistake of my life.”

While Davies’ playing career at Rangers did not flourish, his connection with the club continued later in his career. The now 60-year-old, who managed teams including Preston, Derby County, and Nottingham Forest, revealed he was approached about managing Rangers in 2016 or 2017.

Speaking on Open Goal, he said:

“My agent got a call in 2016 or 2017. My agent got a call from a Rangers board member, and that Rangers board member told him that the Rangers board wanted to speak to me about the job. He told my agent that Stewart Robertson (former managing director) would call us the following morning because we were going for an interview to become the Rangers manager. But we haven’t heard anything since.

“And the interesting thing is that I’ve been linked with that job since 2004. Every year or two, my name comes up, and I’ve never spoken to the club, and they’ve never even given me an interview. My agent got that call from the board member, and he told him Stewart Robertson would call me or him the following day, and the call never came in.”

Out of football management since 2014, Davies remains eager to return to the game. He expressed his determination, saying:
“I’m ready to go. I’m desperate to get the boots back in. I’ve never felt more ready, passionate, and enthusiastic about taking on this next chapter—I can’t wait to get tore into the players and the team and get back to my day job. It’s a game I love, and they’ll never turn me against this game.”

Get More Related Contents Here