Alan Shearer emphatically proved his Newcastle loyalties when he was asked to choose between Manchester United and Sunderland.
The Magpies legend is an icon on Tyneside, having joined his boyhood club for a then world record transfer fee in 1996, before going on to become their all-time record goalscorer.
There are few people more revered at Newcastle than Alan ShearerGETTY
And there are surely no two clubs who would have hated Shearer‘s heroics at St James’ Park more than Sunderland and Man United.
The Black Cats are Newcastle’s bitter rivals, while the Red Devils tried and failed to sign Shearer twice, first when he joined Blackburn in 1992, before he snubbed them again in favour of a £15million move home in 1996.
And the Geordie hero has revealed the feeling is very much mutual between himself and his beloved club’s great adversaries, as he delivered a savage response on The Rest is Football podcast.
Answering questions posed by fans alongside co-hosts Gary Lineker and Micah Richards, the trio were asked which team from any era of English football they would have liked to play for.
The supporter then singled out Shearer by adding: “PS, Alan, please say Manchester United, even if it is through gritted teeth.”
The 54-year-old came back with a brutal reply, as he laughed before saying: “Liverpool!”
Lineker then forced him to make the ultimate choice, probing: “Off the bat of that, if you had to sign for one, Manchester United or Sunderland, which would it be?”
Shearer then left his fellow pundits in hysterics as he gave the ultimate response: “Neither!
“I’d take up f****** golf!”
He then continued to rub salt in United fans wounds, as he settled upon Liverpool‘s all-conquering sides of the 1980s as his dream team to play for.
Credit: YouTube: @TheRestIsFootballShearer had some brutal words for Sunderland and Man United fans[/caption]
Credit: YouTube: @TheRestisfootballHis savage response left his co-hosts in stitches[/caption]
Shearer enjoyed some eventful encounters against Man United, with iconic former skipper Roy Keane even taking a swing at him in one clashGetty
This isn’t the first time the former England striker has shown his unwavering loyalty to Newcastle.
Despite going on to become the Premier League’s all-time record goalscorer with his hometown club, there has always been a question of what might have been regarding his decision to reject a move to Old Trafford.
United dominated English football throughout the 1990s and 2000s, winning eight Premier League titles between its inception in 1992 and Shearer’s retirement in 2006, as well as an historic treble in 1999.
But the former goal machine has never regretted his choices, and said ahead of his final ever game, ironically against the Red Devils: “Of course, I was tempted to join Manchester United, but I do not regret either decision.
“I had a magical time at Blackburn, winning the league. And I completed my own dream of playing for my home town club of Newcastle.
“I have memories I will hold forever and a goalscoring record that makes me extremely proud.”
Despite ultimately not landing the huge silverware that a move to United would have almost guaranteed, Shearer’s career was not short of highlights.
His one and only Premier League winner’s medal came in 1995, when his 34 league goals helped Blackburn to an unlikely first English title since 1914, whilst also securing the league’s Golden Boot award.
Shearer went on to receive the individual accolade in each of the following two campaigns, whilst he also finished as top scorer in Euro 96, as England made it all the way to the semi-finals.