Former AFL star Brendan Fevola has recalled his rejection of St Kilda and how close he was to joining Collingwood.
The two-time Coleman Medallist at Carlton was put up for trade at the Blues at the end of the 2009 season, where both the Saints and Magpies were keen on his services, but ended up heading north to Brisbane.
Fevola revealed on The Fox’s Fifi, Fev & Nick that St Kilda's offer was well below his financial expectations and Carlton refused to entertain a trade with Collingwood and their president Eddie McGuire.
When asked about which clubs were after him, Fevola said: "Yeah, they couldn’t afford me though! This is dead-set. I was going to go to St Kilda. Nick Riewoldt rang me and said, ‘Come to the Saints, we need you to win a flag, but you need to take a $700,000 pay-cut.’ I said, ‘See ya, mate’ and hung up.
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"I nearly went to Collingwood, but Carlton wouldn’t trade with Collingwood. Eddie [McGuire] wanted me to go to Collingwood. I chose Brisbane, we finished near the bottom, and St Kilda and Collingwood played in the Grand Final that year… and then I ended up in a mental clinic!"
Fevola, who won the Coleman Medal for Carlton in 1999 with 89 goals, was put up for trade by the Blues after having off-field issues.
He and a second-round selection was traded to Brisbane, with the Blues receiving Lachlan Henderson and a first-round draft pick.
Fevola went on to kick 48 goals in 17 matches for the Lions in 2010 before he was sacked by the club for a series of off-field indiscretions.