I rejected a contract offer from Man Utd to study economics at university… now I work 12-hour days in the office
OLIVER GILL rejected a contract offer from Manchester United to study economics at university.
The once promising young centre-back even went on to work 12-hour days after graduating from Durham University.
Gill progressed through the United academy and was named reserve player of the year prior to walking away from football in 2011.
United had offered the defender a new deal following a brief loan spell at Bradford City, despite Gill not appearing for the Red Devils.
However, Gill, who had been named on the bench in the Champions League and Premier League, instead chose to reject the offer and head to university.
After graduating, he went on to work in assurance, a role that can involved 12-hour shifts in the office.
However, he revealed he did not regret his decision in 2017, telling The Independent: “I was thinking about staying.
“The first year I did full-time I almost treated it as a gap year and would see how it goes.
“I had a few experiences of being on the bench, we won the reserve league, I enjoyed it.
“With the full-time training and coaches I had you just improve so much, so thought I should see how it goes and if I could make a similar level of improvement.
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“I was still young, I wasn’t delaying the inevitable, as if I’d made an appearance for the first-team and maybe kicked on from there, you never know.”
Gill, who is the son of former United chief executive David, is thankful for the opportunities he had at Old Trafford.
He added: “It was a fantastic experience and if I thought I was going to be playing for Manchester United I don’t think I would have made the decision I did.”
The decision to swap football for university was not easy, though: “It was a really tough decision,” Gill continued.
“I’ve been asked a lot of times why I did it and no one has ever said ‘that’s a good decision’ but I would stick by it.
“I occasionally regret it when I am working long hours now, but I haven’t regretted it too much.”
As for changing his mind if given the chance, he explained: “I thought I would see how university went and I haven’t regretted it, apart from when I work long days or see someone I played with get a big contract and I think ‘bloody hell’.
“If I could make the decision again, I wouldn’t change it, it was the right one for me, even if it’s not for everyone.”
Over a decade on from leaving United, Gill now works as an assistant director at Deloitte, according to his LinkedIn profile.
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