Former Manchester United and England midfielder Nicky Butt said yesterday he was teased out of retirement by an offer from Hong Kong’s top side but will delay signing until he is sure it is the right move.
Butt, 35, hung up his boots in May after helping Newcastle gain promotion to the English Premier League, but said he missed the game over the summer and was lured to the former colony by the chance to play with South China.
Club chairman Steven Lo wants Butt to join his side until the end of the season, but while the midfielder weighs up the merits of the move he will test his fitness, and the standard of the local game, in a league match today.
Playing down British media reports that he could be rewarded with a six-figure weekly pay packet for his efforts, Butt said the details of a short-term deal are yet to be hammered out with Lo – a prominent Hong Kong businessman.
“We haven’t discussed anything like that yet,” he told a press conference in the city’s harbourside Grand Hyatt hotel where he was handed South China’s number 12 shirt.
“I was being offered things from Premiership and Division One teams but for me that’s not a challenge anymore.
“This is a new country for me and an exciting place... I can bring my children here. It ticks all the right boxes. I’ll have a decision over the next two or three days.”
Butt, who in a stellar career with Manchester United won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and a Champions League winners medal, will add some experience and pulling power to Hong Kong’s First Division.
The Hong Kong Football Association is trying to revamp the league after allegations of match-fixing and continued poor match day attendance, with clubs desperate to tap the city’s passion for the sport.
It is a task the former Newcastle United and Birmingham man said he will relish, adding that he is ready to step up his training after months away from competitive action.
“I came to Hong Kong two or three times with Manchester United and England and always remember the reception that we got. It was so warm and humbling,” Butt said.
“I spoke with Bryan Robson three weeks ago and he said I’d enjoy it, but said I should be fit, prepared... it will be hard work.”