Andy Lynch jokes if he had a pound for every time someone spoke to him about scoring the winning goal in an Old Firm final he would be a millionaire.

The former Celtic favourite would certainly have a few more bob had a Middle East consortium he was the frontman for had been successful in their £400million takeover of Liverpool.

Some footballers once they retire lead rather humdrum lives, but not Lynch who has written an entertaining and honest account of his life which proves that there was a lot more to him than a scoring a penalty in a Scottish Cup Final, at the Rangers end, which sealed a double and the last trophy won by Jock Stein at the club.

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Lynch, both likeable and funny, meets me to talk about why an autobiography now, his life in and out of football, the experiences he had in America, Canada and Australia, and what he thinks of his career 30 years after he stopped playing.

But before we get to that, the question has to be asked about how on earth did a boy from Govan come to being so close to what would have been one of the biggest deals in British football history?

“Now I can’t say everything because I signed a confidentiality clause which is unfortunate because I could have said a lot more,” says Lynch now a trim and youthful looking 65-year-old.

“I was in Australia when my agent, based in Montreal and a fly-man, told me he was representing a conglomerate that wanted to buy a football club. He didn’t know much about football, asked me to get involved and that there would be plenty of money in it. I was always dubious and wanted to know more.

“I asked what club it was and he told me Liverpool. He then said; ‘They’re good, aren’t they?’ This was all from a Sheik in Dubai who had serious money and things quickly developed.”

This was in 2010 and in case you are wondering how you missed such a big story, despite everything being agreed, it didn’t happen.

Lynch explained: “The bottom line is their greed – the agent and his partners – and Liverpool’s greed, they were owned by the Americans George Gillett and Tom Hicks back then, is what scuppered the deal.

“This went on for months. I was flown first class everywhere, stayed in the top hotels in London, they put me up in a £1000 a night suite and I’m thinking ‘These guys are awfy generous.’ The penny then dropped.

“They were using Liverpool’s money and not their own. They ran up a huge debt at the club. The-then owners were only paying the interest on a bank loan. They put nothing into the club.

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“Right at the end the Sheik’s representative didn’t trust anyone, and rightly so, although he quite liked me. He had the cheque for £400m, I was there, and he is about to put the cheque in and as this happening I’m thinking I’m going to be a big player at Liverpool Football Club, in fact I was already looking in Scotland for some professional people to help me.

“But then Hicks, Gillet and this agent guy decided they got the money too easily, there was no question about the original figure so they added on something extra and the Sheik told his guy to tear up the cheque and come home.”

It’s some story and there is more in the book and a lot more to be told. Maybe one day it will all come out.

What we do know about Lynch is that he was an outside half who signed for his beloved Celtic in 1973 from Hearts, suffered from injury, but won cup and leagues, including that great success in 1977.

“I have seven grandchildren, five in Australia, two in Spain who I don’t see as much as I would like to, and I would like to leave them something,” said Lynch in a way of explaining why he decided to put down his life story.

“I also wanted to let the Celtic supporters know what it was like to play for Celtic, what it meant to me. The greatest day of my life was signing for Celtic.”

The problem for Lynch was that a chronic pelvic injury was not treated. At Hearts he got painkillers and rest. Celtic offered that plus cortisone injections “and I took a lot of them” so is it any wonder that things got worse as he trained harder than ever before to impress Stein and his new team-mates?

“Talking about it now is therapeutic,” said Lynch. “I got depressed because I was out for such a long time, I don’t mind admitting that. Football was my job and I couldn’t do it. Writing the book made me realise how much big Jock stuck by me and believed in me, and for that I am always grateful."

He did get back in as a left-back and got the chance to score one of the most memorable goals in Celtic history.

“That day showed how quickly things can change. It wasn’t so long before the Rangers game that I was down and out.”

Lynch lived and coached in the States and Canada where he did well with Montreal Manic who defeated the mighty New Yok Cosmos, a result which he believes ushered the end of the North American Soccer League.

He returned to Scotland only to find that in the five years he’d been away, certain aspects of the country remained in the dark ages.

“I met with big Jock in a pub he owned, he was the Scotland manager at the time, and I told him I was looking to get into management,” said Lynch. “The doors were closed. Why? Because of what I was. I had played with Celtic.”

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Lynch was a successful publican and hotelier in Glasgow, coached in Australia and can look back on a life well lived.

He said: “I hope the supporters remember me. It is a fantastic club and it was a sad day when I left. Football is a great profession, I have a lot of good memories. Playing for Celtic was my ambition and I did it.”

Hoops, Stars and Stripes: The Andy Lynch story with Paul John Dykes, is out on Friday