Scott Brown says it would be his "worst f****** nightmare" to chase after an opponent for a shirt swap - and reveals it embarrassed him when his Celtic teammates did it.
The former Parkhead skipper, now making a name for himself in the dugout at Fleetwood Town, set the standards during his playing career in Glasgow's East End and will be remembered as one of their greatest ever captains. Brown won 22 major honours including ten league titles throughout his legendary spell before leaving for Aberdeen in 2021.
He crossed paths with some of the greatest players on the planet while at Celtic taking on the likes of AC Milan, Barcelona, Manchester United and Juventus among others, but takes pride in the fact he never once asked an opposition player for their shirt. He told The Telegraph: "I never really bothered (with shirt-swapping). I always thought ‘what would people think if I was seen swapping shirts with someone and they had got the better of me?’ If they asked me it was ok but I never ran and asked them.
“I would never run to Messi and say ‘can I have your shirt please’. That’s embarrassing. I have seen it. I have been walking up the stairs and we are 4-0 down (at Celtic) to Barcelona and our lads are not worrying about the result but want to swap shirts with Messi, Busquets, Xavi and I am thinking ‘that’s my worst f****** nightmare’. I could never get my head around it: ‘you are embarrassing us out there but you want their shirt?’ That’s not for me.”
Brown's iconic bald dome has gone out the door since moving into management to be replaced with a full head of hair and he revealed his shave head was all part of an act to "intimidate" opponents. He always relished a scrap on the pitch and admits he would fully embraced his "pantomime villain" role.
He went on: “It was more to intimidate people than anything. I shaved my head before every game and it was to look a bit harder, to look more aggressive, to show that I meant business.
“I would always try and pick on the bigger guy; never the small guy. I wanted to punch above my weight. I wanted to play Champions League. I wanted to play against Barcelona, Bayern Munich. And I loved it. I loved playing against the best players in the world and I did it quite a lot and I thrived off it.
"You could be anyone you wanted for 90 minutes. As soon as I crossed the line I became a different person. I was quite chilled and relaxed away from the pitch. On it, I was a pantomime villain. I could become a bit of an a***hole on the park.
“If I felt we were struggling in games I would try and set the tone with a tackle. I would smash someone or try and play a good pass or win a header: ‘right, come on lads, let’s go!'"
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