‘I would rather walk out in front of 500,000 people – NAKED – than have to stand up on a chair and do an initiation in front of a team!’.
That’s according to Grosvenor Sport brand ambassador Jamie O’Hara.
And two-time Premier League winner Joleon Lescott was firmly in agreement when the pair sat down at Grosvenor’s Vic casino to discuss what goes on behind the scenes during the transfer window.
Lescott recalled how he even considered trying to pull out of his initiation at Everton.
‘I’m thinking I’m going to try and pull out of this and say I’m a bit ill. The gaffer said “no, don’t even try it”,’ said Lescott, who had to perform Oasis’ Wonderwall.
The Birmingham-born defender discusses how he joined the Toffees from Wolves, and his later move from Merseyside to Manchester City, where he also won the FA Cup and League Cup.
Meanwhile, O’Hara lifts the lid on how brutal the window can be for players when his agent called out of the blue and simply said: ‘You’re going to Wolves tomorrow. Mick McCarthy’s expecting you at 10 o’clock in the morning.’
The duo also exchange stories about some mega transfers that they nearly witnessed.
Lescott tells host Will Brazier how close Wayne Rooney really was to joining City and O’Hara reveals the surprise stumbling block that meant David Beckham couldn’t make a loan move from LA Galaxy to Tottenham in 2011.
On the more light-hearted side, ex-England defender Lescott remembers how Andy van der Meyde gave him the runaround on day one at Everton and when Robinho left him red-faced during his first session for City.
Other funny stories in this must-watch video include our man O’Hara’s experiences of Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, whose efforts on the training ground didn’t leave him impressed.
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