‘WHY I SNUBBED IBROX MOVE,’ LAURSEN

ULRIK LAURSEN has revealed he turned down Rangers to sign for Celtic in 2002, in a podcast with @GIGPOD.

The former Danish international defender was with Hibs at the time after Alex McLeish signed him from Odense on Freedom of Contract two years earlier.

When McLeish moved to Ibrox as manager he tried to persuade the left-back to follow him, but Martin O’Neill intervened and Laursen decided the Hoops were the better choice.

The Irishman paid £1.3million for the player and he spent three years at the club and played in the 2003 UEFA Cup Final extra-time defeat against Porto in Seville.

Laursen said: “I knew there was interest because Hibs renewed my contract, but I wasn’t really interested in going anywhere because we had a nice life in Edinburgh, with a beautiful house and had our friends close by.

“Then I heard that McLeish wanted to sign for Rangers and an agent told me O’Neill wanted me to sign for Celtic.

“It’s not everyday that both Celtic and Rangers want to sign you.“I thought Celtic was the better club for me at that time. I thought the team was better, I thought the players were better.

“So, that’s why I chose Celtic.”

Laursen moved back to Odense in the summer of 2005 after Gordon Strachan took over as Hoops gaffer following O’Neill’s resignation.