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CRAIG BROWN was privileged to see two prominent young talents in Ryan Christie and James Maddison as they spent a crucial part of their early careers developing at Pittodrie in their capacity as an ambassador for Aberdeen.
The pair have since gone on to become full internationals with their respective countries, but it was Maddison who tempted Leicester City to part with the best part of £ 20 million to steer them away from Norwich City, while Christie quietly makes a name for herself in the Celtic.
However, although Brown is a fan of both players, he believes he is the man the Scottish champions paid the relative change of £ 500,000 for in 2015 who is the better player of the two.
“This is my personal opinion, not the club’s or Derek McInnes’s, but we had Ryan Christie on loan from Celtic and we had James Maddison on loan from Norwich City,” Brown said.
“I watched every game that Maddison played and every game Christie played for Aberdeen, and my opinion was that Christie was the best player.
“And yet Maddison went to Leicester City for £ 20 million and is now on the England team.
“He scored a great goal against Rangers that obviously made him a hero in Aberdeen, but when I looked at those two guys, Christie was better for me.
“Both have developed since then, obviously, but if you ask me which of those players I’d rather have on my team, then I’d rather have Christie than Maddison.
“So Scotland is lucky to have Christie.”
Christie’s emotional interview after scoring the goal that earned Scotland its draw in Serbia, which ultimately led to qualification for Euro 2020 after penalty kicks, perfectly illustrates for Brown the passion with which he plays the game.
“His interview was great and shows you what he means to him and to everyone,” he said.
“His father (Charlie) is a fantastic guy and the family is real football people, and he is a credit to them.”
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