West Ham legend Sir Geoff Hurst reveals how close he came to signing for Manchester United in 1970 following an offer from Sir Matt Busby.
Like four Manchester United legends, Sir Geoff Hurst was in the England squad that won the 1966 World Cup.
Hurst is the only man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, as he shared the dressing room with Sir Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles, John Connelly, and Alex Stepney.
After coming through West Ham’s academy, Hurst formed a legendary trio that defined the club’s greatest period with Bobby Moore and Martin Peters.
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Man Utd wanted Sir Geoff Hurst in 1968
In the mid 1960s, Hurst was instrumental in winning the 1964 FA Cup and 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup at West Ham.
Hurst scored 249 goals in 499 appearances for the Hammers, but he also missed out on the opportunity to sign for Sir Matt Busby at United two years on from winning the World Cup.
It was the same year United went on to win the European Cup for the first time, in 1968.
Busby wanted Hurst and offered £200,000, which would have made it a world-record transfer at the time.
The bid was rejected by then-West Ham manager Ron Greenwood, but Hurst claimed not to have had any regrets about not moving his career to Old Trafford.
“What happened in 1968, 2 years after the final – Man United, Matt Busby offered me then a record fee of about £200,000 for me, and Ron Greenwood sent a telegram back to Matt Busby and simply said ‘no thanks’,” Hurst said at an evening event, as uploaded by YouTube channel NUFC Matters.
“That was not an issue for me, not for one second, I mean, not for one second, fantastic club. I was brought up in Manchester in Denton. So it’s never been a big thing for me, but that’s what happened, and that would have been a fairly big fee for me there.”
- ⚡️ NEWS IN BRIEF
- West Ham turned down Manchester United’s £200,000 offer for Sir Geoff Hurst in 1968
- Sir Matt Busby wanted to sign the World Cup winner
- The West Ham legend never regretted his missed opportunity to sign for United
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Sir Geoff Hurst record against Man Utd
Hurst scored 10 goals against United throughout his career.
He is the joint-third highest scorer in the history of the United vs West Ham fixture, tied with Charlton on 10 goals.
Wayne Rooney scored 12 in the fixture and tops the list.
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