THERE’S the old saying about looking like a million dollars.
But Dundee United new boy Liam Grimshaw spent part of his summer chasing it.
GettyWrexham’s celebrity owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney helped the club gain an invite to the prestigious small-sided tourney[/caption]
Grimmy is delighted to be back in Scotland with Dundee Utd
The 28-year-old was asked to be a guest star for Wrexham as the club owned by actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds featured in a seven-a-side tournament in the USA.
Former Manchester United starlet Grimshaw admits it was a crazy few days in North Carolina — topped off by meeting Spanish legend Cesc Fabregas.
He said: “My old coach at Manchester United, Paul McGuinness, recommended me to David Jones, who came through the United academy like me. David was player-manager for the tournament and he got in touch and asked if I’d be interested and I jumped at it.
“In football when a chance like this comes around you have to take it and you never know where it might lead.
“It took place in Raleigh in North Carolina. My wife Courtney came out with me and the people were so friendly and it had such a charm about the place.
“The tournament was for a million dollars and there were plenty of well-known faces.
“We played against Fabregas’ Como team and that was amazing. He is part-owner of them but sadly he wasn’t playing, although he was their manager. I was able to speak to him and that was great. He was a lovely guy and so down to earth.
“We just chatted about all things football and, for someone who has achieved what he has in the game, he could have been unapproachable but it certainly wasn’t like that.
“This is a guy who has won the World Cup, European Championships, Premier League, La Liga and countless other trophies.
“He was so humble and so open about his career. It wasn’t just me, he went and spoke to everyone and there was no arrogance at all from him.
“He played the game how we would all love to play it, with flair and elegance. It was good to meet him.
“West Ham had a team and there were guys like Carlton Cole, Marlon Harewood and Anton Ferdinand.
GettyCesc Fabregas had time for a chat in the star-studded tournament[/caption]
Kenny RamsayGrimshaw was a star for Morton last term and earned a move to the Arabs[/caption]
“Wolves had a team, there was an American all-stars team, teams from Mexico, Israel, all over the world.
“With it being in America I hoped Ryan Reynolds would have been there and there were a few rumours he would have played but sadly not.
“It was amazing seeing all of these guys and it was a brilliant few days and I am glad I did it.
“Sady Wrexham didn’t win it, but half of the prize money went to the players and the other half went to a project of the club’s choice.
“If we had won it would have gone to one of the club’s charities but it wasn’t to be, although it was a great experience to have.”
Grimshaw was a standout during his stint with Championship side Morton last season as they narrowly missed out on making the play-offs.
Ton boss Dougie Imrie wanted to keep hold of Grimshaw, who was voted as the club’s player of the year, but he has opted to move to Tannadice on a two-year deal.
Grimshaw will always be grateful to Imrie and hailed him as a top boss.
He added: “I loved my time at Morton and we were so close to winning the title — never mind making the play-offs — and to miss out altogether was so disappointing.
“We knew we had to win at Cove Rangers and things had to go our way, we kept up our end of the bargain but it didn’t happen for us.
“Over the season I think we acquitted ourselves really well and I don’t think many people would expect us to finish where we did.
“With a bit of luck we could have won the title and gone up automatically.
“Dougie had everyone pulling in the same direction and he has done a fantastic job there. He deserves plenty of credit for what we achieved.”
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