Video clip of a 10-year-old Aiden McGeady shows why top clubs wanted him

Even Lionel Messi took notice of Aiden McGeady's talents, singing his praises before Barcelona played Celtic in the Champions League

18 Oct 2024, 12:18 by Kieran Cunningham · Irish Mirror

Aiden McGeady's career saw him play for clubs in Scotland, England and Russia as well as all over the world with Ireland.

He announced his retirement at 38 on Thursday, having made his professional debut for Celtic back in April, 2004. There was a time when the teenage McGeady was one of the hottest properties around.

Many of the top clubs kept tracks on his progress, with Arsene Wenger particularly keen to bring him to Arsenal. But McGeady and his father John - a former player with Sheffield United - felt he had a better chance of breaking through to the first team at Celtic.

McGeady made such rapid progress that even Lionel Messi took note. This is what he had to say about him before Messi's Barcelona played Celtic in a 2008 Champions League tie.

"We will have to be careful with him because his movement can be special and he has a great ability to appear in goalscoring positions out of the blue,'' said Messi.

"I really like the way he plays football. He is a natural talent, who can create a brilliant piece of play in the blink of an eye and I can assure you our defenders will be paying very close attention to him.

"He'd be successful anywhere in Europe, but I know he likes playing for Celtic, so I'm not sure he'd leave."

There is a video clip on YouTube which makes it clear that McGeady was a special talent from an early age.

In the clip, McGeady is around 10 years old but he is small and slight for his age and the pitch on which he is strutting his stuff resembles a ploughed field.

McGeady is in the red and black stripes of his primary school, Our Lady of the Missions, but his team-mates are there merely for decoration.

The boy wonder sweeps on to a loose ball and virtually dances his way around five opponents, floating like a feather above the rutted ground before sliding the ball into the net with a flourish.

There are no wild celebrations from the player. Instead, McGeady’s reaction is more of a shrug, as if to say ‘this is what I’m born to do’.

That unshakeable belief in his own ability was always one of his strengths.

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