Wayne Rooney has revealed it "would have been an honour" to have played for Sir Bobby Robson with Newcastle United.
Much has been made of the Magpies' bidding war with Manchester United back in 2004 when Rooney was red-hot property after bursting on to the scene with Everton and lighting up 2004 in an England shirt.
Rooney's fall out with David Moyes left a more ambitious version of Newcastle in with a shout of landing a deal that would have emulated the global coup when Alan Shearer joined the club in 1996.
The Three Lions legend spoke to Newcastle back in the summer of 2004 and while some critics thought it was a publicity stunt at the time, Rooney does not dismiss the fact it could have been a possibility.
When asked about the audacious move from then chairman Freddy Shepherd, Rooney told the Chronicle in an exclusive interview: "Newcastle are a fantastic club – and YES, there was interest.
"It was a unique atmosphere playing at St James’ Park, the fans are so passionate and I always enjoyed coming up against Newcastle.
"It was a different experience to everywhere else."
Newcastle had England regulars such as Kieron Dyer and Jermaine Jenas on the books back then and they tried their best to persuade the former Everton superstar to come to ply his trade in front of the Gallowgate End.
Rooney told me: "Players I knew who played for the club always said it was such a fantastic place to play football because the fans are out of this world.
"Their away support has to be one of the best as well, they create an incredible atmosphere everywhere they go."
Sadly for Newcastle fans at that time though Sir Alex Ferguson wasn't in the mood to be outdone twice by the Magpies in the space of a decade when it came to signing an England ace.
Having lost out on Shearer in 1996, Sir Alex upped the ante for Rooney and won a £27million chase for the striker leaving Everton fans heartbroken.
Shepherd had held talks with Rooney but missed out, however, the Toxteth-born star remained great friends with former Newcastle supremo.
And Rooney was one of the big names to pay his respects on Tyneside when Shepherd passed away in 2017.
Shepherd was a big part of the Triple S agency that went on to represent Rooney in his career.
He reflected: "Freddy Shepherd was a great man and did a lot for Newcastle football Club – and for the local area.
"His influence extends outside of the city too, as his legacy continues in the form of Soccer Aid for UNICEF, where almost £50million has been raised in 15 years.
"I met him on many occasions."
Shepherd's determination to deliver success to St James' Park is a far cry from recent years when the club have staved off relegation with an anxious count up to 40 points each term.
European football used to be a regular occurrence at Newcastle but they have qualified for Continental competition just once under Mike Ashley.
Rooney said: "Freddy was a big football fan and an even bigger Newcastle fan!
"He felt it as much as anyone when Newcastle won and even more when they lost.
"The team had a lot of success during his time there."
Had Newcastle won the race to sign Rooney back then, things could have turned out very differently for Sir Bobby Robson.
But a bad start to the 2004/05 campaign resulted in the former England boss parting company.
Rooney admits he often wonders what might have been had he played for Sir Bobby.
The ex-Man United star said: "Sir Bobby Robson is an icon of the game - and was one of England’s greatest ever coaches.
"He was special and it would have been an honour to play for such a great man.
"I was fortunate enough to play most of my career under Sir Alex Ferguson and the lads I knew that played under Sir Bobby, spoke about him in the same way players talk about Sir Alex.
"They were both outstanding leaders, who everyone had the upmost respect for."
Rooney made the majority of his career appearances at St James' Park as part of the opposition but he recalls one night when he heard Geordie voices roaring him on.
It came a few months after Newcastle's bid to lure him to Toon as Azerbaijan clashed with England in a World Cup qualifier.
Rooney didn't score but got an assist for Steven Gerrard in a 2-0 win.
He said: "It may have been an England game but you knew the stadium was packed full of Newcastle supporters.
"It was electric that night.
"I remember the lads coming into the changing room after the game saying the support was amazing.
"I remember the game well and the goals.
"It was a great finish from Stevie and I’m glad I was able to set him up for a change!
"Stevie was one of the best for England."
Rooney is now manager of Derby County after retiring last year, but he will pull on his boots again this summer for Soccer Aid.
He admits that while it is a charity game against the Rest of the World, he still feels pride when pulling on a Three Lions jersey.
England's all-time top scorer with 53 goals said: "Of course, putting on an England shirt remains the greatest honour.
"I loved playing for my country and I’m thrilled to be wearing an England shirt once again for Soccer Aid for UNICEF.
"It’s going to be brilliant playing back at the Etihad stadium, this September, it’s a place where I have great memories of playing!
"I’m really looking forward to playing with a lot of former England teammates – especially the Man United lads, Scholesy and Gary Neville.
"I was involved last year as England Manager and it was great fun – all for a hugely worthwhile cause. Even without any fans in the stadium, we raised a record-breaking £9.3million for UNICEF.
"We hope to break the record again this year and I urge people to buy their tickets now, which they can do at socceraid.org.uk/tickets. "
Soccer Aid for UNICEF takes place on Saturday 4 th September at the Etihad Stadium – tickets are available at socceraid.org.uk/tickets
