COLLINGWOOD forward Jordan De Goey has revealed his four-letter response when he learned of a $5 million offer to join North Melbourne last year.
While he ultimately signed a two-year deal to stay a Pie, the 23-year-old was in the midst of a career-best run of form in May last year as offers flooded in from clubs including the Roos and St Kilda.
De Goey this week recalled the phone call he received from agent Ben Niall informing him of the multi-million-dollar proposal to move to Arden Street.
"Probably the only time I thought (about leaving) was when my manager on the phone said North have upped their offer and (said) it was $1 million," De Goey told the Jock and Journo podcast.
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"And I said, '$1 million (overall)?'
"And he said, '$1 million-a-year for five years', and that's when I was kind of like, 'Oh shit'.
"If you think in terms of money, what was I, 22?
A 22-year-old, everyone wants to be a millionaire … don't you?
"To hear that, it's cool and I appreciate hearing that they (Roos) have that thought about me, that I could become (worth) something like that."
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North Melbourne coach Brad Scott addressed De Goey's comments on Thursday, saying he didn't have any concerns with the Magpie speaking about the offer, but also that he wasn't aware of the contract details.
"To be honest, I don't know," Scott said.
"The way list management works at our club is we look at certain players and we look at opportunities we may have, and my role at list management is to answer the questions as to whether a player like that would fit into our system.
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"If the answer to that is 'Yes' then the accountants and the numbers men go to work, but for good reason I don't know what players are paid."
De Goey ended a potential season of speculation in June when he committed until the end of 2020 before going on to make the All Australian squad from just 17 matches.
"For me it was pretty simple in the end," he said.
"I'm a people-person, I get really comfortable around the boys and the people we've brought in, and I think all the people we've got at the footy club are awesome people, they're just genuine.
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"They care about you as a person and not just as a footballer, and for me that's really all I want, not caring if they've got the biggest names … as long as I'm happy.
"When I've got good relationships with the people around me — that's when I'm going to be happy.
"And when I'm happy that's when I'm playing my best footy."
The emerging superstar sat out the first three matches of last year following an off-field indiscretion, caught driving over the blood-alcohol limit in pre-season.
Forced to explain his actions to the leadership group on a Sunday, De Goey said it provided a "lightbulb" moment for his football career.
