A £ 2million deal could have put him in place with his family for the rest of their lives, but he decided to stick with the Donations
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A £ 2million deal could have saved him and his family for the rest of their lives
And lightened the pressure on Dons chief Dave Cormack, the club suffering in the midst of a pandemic But sometimes it’s not always about the money
And the great striker has no regrets about rejecting the Ligue 2 team’s lucrative offer in July
Last year’s top scorer is back in shape for Derek McInnes’ side as they try to continue their impressive start to the campaign
If he can send them back to a trophy and pick up where he left off in February – he had plundered 23 goals in the league shutdown – he’ll eventually get a big hit But it will be at the right time to Cosgrove and his club, unlike the arrival of Guingamp
And all’s well that ends well for President Cormack – who at least managed to pocket £ 3million for center-back Scott McKenna in the transfer window
As Cosgrove mulled over his own decision ahead of today’s showdown with Celtic, the 23-year-old said: “When the opportunity arose to go to France it was something something I had to sit down and think about – but not for very long
« It is naturally interesting to hear about the possibility of moving abroad at a cost of several million pounds
« But he didn’t stay in Guingamp’s window any longer, so they were really trying to get him through
« It has been compared to second division football in France and to being even further removed from my family
« After a bit of deliberation and discussion with people close to me, it just wasn’t the right time for me to move or move on
« And at 100%, games like this at Hampden played a big part in the decision to stay
« I haven’t spoken to Dave personally, but from what I’ve heard he could have done it with a few extra pounds!
« It crossed my mind But this is my career and many protocols and emergency plans were put in place for the club. I was reassured that Aberdeen would be fine
« A few more millions would help, obviously, but I was told that the money would not have made a huge difference
« The auction had been accepted so it was a question of whether or not I wanted to participate – if I thought it was the right decision But it wasn’t so my decision was made
« And now I can just dismiss the President because he got his £ 3million for Scott anyway! »
Soon after rejecting the move, Cosgrove picked up what looked like a serious injury in a rebound match against Hibs After fracturing the inside of his knee, he was then caught in a Covid storm as part of the Aberdeen 8 which broke club protocols by going out into the city center
The players were not only reprimanded by Aberdeen and the SFA – but were also criticized by Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon
But Cosgrove showed his physical and mental strength to recover from the injury sooner than expected
And looking back on a turbulent time for him and the club, he says footballers were sometimes treated unfairly during the Covid crisis
He said, « Would winning the semi-final be a bit like redemption after what happened in the preseason? » Yes and no
« The criticism we got from it was overblown There were a lot of things that weren’t the worst thing in the world
« These few weeks have been difficult I had had bad news about the injury, then I had great grief from many sources
« Now I just want to focus fully on my football and show anyone who doubts my attitude or opinion towards the club
« I have the perfect opportunity to do this on the weekend And there are also some big games after that, so I can’t wait to be there
« I’d love to give you my full opinion on everything that’s happened with Covid – but it’s probably not the best thing right now
« Players and staff made sacrifices to keep the game going It’s happened everywhere
« Footballers tend to have a hard time, but a lot of people don’t appreciate that it’s our job at the end of the day We put our bodies on the line
« We don’t need praise or attention, but it’s good when people recognize what we do and what we post every day »
Cosgrove is in the running to start for Aberdeen against the Hoops today after making a real impact as a submarine in last week’s Premiership draw 3-3 at Pittodrie
In added time, Cosgrove was tempted to take the ball away from Lewis Ferguson as Aberdeen’s regular penalty taker and won the equalizer
Ferguson has already scored SIX on the spot this season, but Cosgrove said: “I already had a word with Lewis on penalties
« But on the pitch against Celtic he had the ball in his hands and for me physically removing the ball from him would have upset a few people
« It’s not the best for live TV But we talked about it and came to an agreement, so it’s settled »
Sam Cosgrove, Aberdeen Football Club, Celtic FC, Scottish Premiership, Hibernian FC, Scottish Cup, Dave Cormack
World News – UK – Sam Cosgrove shares his dilemma of transfer exit to Aberdeen
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com