‘I turned down Celtic and Rangers as a player – now I’d love to manage them’

Legendary defender Jaap Stam turned down moves to Celtic and Rangers during his playing days but says he would ‘love’ to manage the Scottish giants 30 years on.

Stam, who played for the likes of Manchester United, PSV, Lazio and AC Milan, is regarded as one of the best defenders in history.

The best spell of Stam’s career came at Old Trafford when he helped Sir Alex Ferguson’s side win the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble in 1999.

But the iconic Netherlands centre-back also won major trophies in the Eredivisie and Serie A, while being named the best defender in Europe in two successive seasons in the late 1990s.

Manchester United made Stam the most expensive defender in history when they signed him for £10.6m in April 1998.

Stam says Rangers made an effort to sign him from PSV at the same time but he had his heart set on a move to the Premier League to play under Fergie.

Rangers’ Old Firm rivals Celtic tried to sign Stam a few years earlier but he ‘wanted to stay in Holland’, believing that would be better for his development.

Stam says he has ‘always followed’ Scottish football after considering moves to the country and would be up for managing Celtic or Rangers.

A stop-start coaching career has seen Stam manage the likes of Reading, Feyenoord and Cincinnati over the past decade.

‘My assistant at Reading, Andries Ulderink, is now working for Rangers, he’s a good guy,’ Stam told BoyleSports. ‘There have been a lot of Dutch managers and players over there, including Dick Advocaat.

‘When I was working with Advocaat at PSV he tried to bring me to Rangers, but unfortunately for him Manchester United came in for me the same summer.

‘I’ve always followed Scottish football and when I played for Willem II I had the chance to join Celtic. I had an opportunity but I wanted to stay in Holland and keep learning.

‘But both Celtic and Rangers are great clubs and everyone recognises their grounds, everyone is always thinking about football over there.

‘One day I’d love to manage in Scotland, maybe for Rangers or Celtic or for another club. It would be amazing for me because the fans are so passionate about the game and I love that.’

Celtic look set to become Scottish champions for the fourth year in a row after moving 13 points clear of Rangers at the top of the table.

Brendan Rodgers’ side are in Champions League action this week but their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages look slim.

Rangers, meanwhile, travel to Old Trafford on Thursday night to face Ruben Amorim’s struggling Manchester United.

‘Manchester United vs Rangers will be a great game,’ Stam added. ‘The fans will be so enthusiastic and up for it, everyone who loves football will love to see a big game like this, especially in Great Britain.

‘It’ll be a very tough game for United, no games are easy at the moment. It’s going to be a tough game but they need to give maximum effort and think about taking one game at a time.’

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