One of my regrets in life is that when a statue of Billy was unveiled in his birthplace of Bellshill, I had only just come out of hospital. The ceremony was a matter of days after my discharge. It felt more like being released, after spending so much time on a ventilator following heart surgery that had come with life-threatening complications.
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The Secret Behind My Celtic Decision: McNeill’s Unforgettable Words
I was in turmoil over Dortmund offer to leave Celtic but Billy McNeill eased it with ‘farting into thunder’ admission
Celtic and Scotland legend Murdo MacLeod is a walking miracle. He has twice battled life-threatening heart conditions and survived to tell the tale – and what a tale it is. His autobiography ‘Murdo, Murdo’ is the story of his fabulous football journey from the infamous 4-2 game to stopping 10-in-a-row and more in between. And, in an exclusive serialisation, we give readers an insight into this fantastic new book.
I was born and brought up on the west side of Glasgow. I had played for nine years wearing a Celtic shirt in the east end. I was living out my professional and private life in a 30-mile radius and approaching my 30th birthday.
I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I tried to say I moved to the Bundesliga and signed for Dortmund because I wanted to broaden my horizons, embrace a new culture and learn a different language. Borussia made me a financial offer that was life-changing and I couldn’t possibly have turned it down.
My mind was in turmoil because Billy McNeill was coming back in to manage Celtic and there was no figure associated with the club I respected more than big Billy. I told Billy exactly what I was going to get for moving to Germany and the manager who had looked after me at the pivotal moments in my life refused to stand in my way. “You’ve got to take it,” he said. “We’d be farting against thunder trying to compete with that kind of money.”
I had to be completely honest and truthful with the man who had signed me from Dumbarton in 1978 and shaped my career as a footballer. I got married while I was still a Dumbarton player and bought a house not far from their famous old ground, Boghead.
The house didn’t have a phone so when the doorbell rang and I opened it to find the manager, Alex Wright, there I wondered what was wrong. He said: “You need to get to Celtic Park straight away. We’ve agreed to sell you to Celtic and Billy McNeill’s there waiting for you to sign the contract.”
When big Billy walked into the boardroom my mouth quite genuinely fell open. I reverted to type in that moment. I joined Celtic on a weekly wage of £114.30. I didn’t turn to anyone for advice. I didn’t ask for time to think over the offer. I just took the pen and signed the legal paperwork in front of me then stepped out into the street as a Celtic player.
Within months I would be involved in a match against Rangers that would be described by some Celtic supporters as the greatest night of their lives and by others as having provided a moment which ranked alongside the day when Inter Milan were beaten in Lisbon and Billy became the first British player in history to lift the European Cup.
Big Billy always said there was a fairytale aspect attached to Celtic and it is true. ‘Ten Men Won the League’ became a phrase which would enter folklore and my winning goal would be enshrined as the greatest ever scored by a Celtic player in an Old Firm derby.
The whole experience of playing for Celtic shaped my life. It wasn’t easy for me to tell the man who had brought me to Celtic Park nine years earlier that I was going elsewhere.
Billy refused to deny me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I knew I could leave Celtic having been open and honest with everyone and respectful to the club who had made me a player good enough to attract the interest of Borussia Dortmund. Billy being Billy, he went out and signed Billy Stark from Aberdeen after I had gone, and Starky promptly scored the only goal of the game in the first derby of the season against Rangers.
