Very high praise.
Football legend Ron Atkinson has said Paul McGrath was the best centre half ever to play in the Premier League.
The former Manchester United and Aston Villa manager told a number of stories about the Irish hero playing under him at separate spells.
Speaking on the Undr The Cosh podcast, the 85-year-old revealed what it was like to see the young McGrath rise through the ranks.
“I had seen Ruud Gullit play at Feyenoord and he either played up the right hand side or in the middle at the back,” he explained.
“When I first saw McGrath, I had this theory that he could do that, that if he didn’t quite make it at centre half, he could always make it up the right.”
Ron Atkinson says Paul McGrath is the best centre half to ever play in the Premier League
With this week marking 30 years since McGrath’s iconic performance in the USA ’94 World Cup against Italy, it was great to hear an insight as to what it was like managing the legendary player.
However, things could have gone a lot differently, according to Atkinson, who revealed he nearly sold McGrath to Celtic.
“When I went to Villa all the stories [of McGrath’s drinking issues] were going around and I’m thinking this is horrific and quite honestly when I got there I said ‘if there’s going to be a problem, get it out the way before we start.’
“I actually offered him on the market to Liam Brady at Celtic and if Brady had of come up with £1.5 million I would have let him go.”
He revealed that Celtic had offered around £750,000, which he refused.
“That was the luckiest escape I ever had because I don’t think there’s ever been a better centre half in the premiership.”
He continued, “You talk to anybody that’s watched Villa for a number of years and he’s the number one player.”
Atkinson also told a great story about the time Villa went to Germany for a preseason tournament alongside coach Dave Sexton.
“About three, four weeks into preparation and [Sexton] hasn’t seen McGrath.
“We play against Dynamo Dresden and they’ve got this big centre forward. So I said to Paul ‘I think you ought to have a game in this one, you know in ten days time the season starts.'”
Despite Sexton’s protests, Atkinson kept the faith: “First minute, Paul down the middle, their centre forward sets off, McGrath just steams past him, picks up the ball, ping, knocks it off.
“Few minutes later, the centre forward goes up, Paul towers above him – bang.
“After 20 minutes, Dave Sexton turns around to me and says, ‘Ron, he can’t do what he’s doing [all season]’.
“I said ‘Dave, he’ll do that 42 games a season’.”
McGrath, as we know, went on to play the best football of his career at Villa and is still today referred to as ‘God’.
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