Scotland star who played at Euros looks unrecognisable now with huge bushy beard

Scotland hero Brian McClair is almost unrecognisable now following an astonishing transformation.

The former forward was a regular for the Scotland national team between 1986 and 1993. He is best known for his spells at Celtic at Manchester United, where he made an immediate impact and graced the Old Trafford turf for 11 years.

Now 60, McClair bears little resemblance to the player who netted 31 goals in his debut Red Devils season. The Lanarkshire native was seen in 2023 posing for a picture in a Manchester pub with a pint.

He sported a huge white beard and long grey locks vastly different to his clean-shaven look and brown hair as a footballer, which many would still associate him with. These days, he’s busy back in the world of football on his podcast ‘Life With Brian’, having had guests such as journalist Geoff Shreeves, presenter Mark Pougatch and cricket icon David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd.

In his prime, McClair was one of the Scottish and English top flights’ top players. He netted a sensational 126 goals in 204 appearances for Celtic.

That impressive goalscoring record continued for United under Sir Alex Ferguson, where he became the first player to hit over 20 league goals for them since George Best’s stellar showing during the 1967/68 season.

His successful run with the club saw him lift four Premier League titles, a pair of FA Cups and the League Cup.

McClair also won 30 caps for Scotland between 1986 and 1993. His debut came in November 1986 in a 3-0 Euro 1988 qualifier win over Luxembourg at Hampden Park.

While Scotland failed to qualify for that edition of the Euros, he became a regular and helped the Tartan Army earn a spot at the 1990 World Cup. But he suffered the disappointment of being left out of the final tournament squad by Andy Roxburgh.

McClair finally got his chance to represent his nation on the big stage at the 1992 European Championships, losing to Germany and the Netherlands but scoring in a 3-0 win over the CIS (formerly USSR). He retired at Motherwell in 1998.