Brian McFadden says ex-Westlife bandmates turned down huge amount for reunite

It’s the year of musical reunions.

But one band who definitely appears to not be getting back together is Westlife - at least for now, anyways. There’s been a lot of back-and-forth between band members in recent weeks over the possibility of a reunion - in particular, who would be involved if there ever was one. Shane Filan pretty much ruled out the prospect of a reunion that includes Brian. He told Digital Spy:

"I haven't seen Brian in ten years. "We've just lost touch. It's like going to school with somebody and then not speaking. "We all had a good relationship with Brian, then he just left the band very early on. And I don't think we would ever reunite with him. "I honestly see Westlife as being four people now. "The four people who started and finished Westlife are what I consider the band."

After previously claiming that “ego” was destroying the possibility of a full reunion, Brian McFadden has now said that there was a “major offer” on the table for Westlife to return as a five-piece. In fact, it's said that it would've collectively netted the band a total of €50million - and that's before they even hit the stage. The 38-year-old, who left the band in 2004, said he was “pretty upset” that his bandmates hadn’t wanted him back after the multi-million pound offer. He told the Irish Sun:

“I was offered a big multi-million pound deal. It was the other boys in Westlife who said ‘no’. They didn’t want me back. “How does that make me feel? It makes me pretty upset because I didn’t realise they still had those feelings towards me.”

According to the publication, Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Mark Feehily and Kian Egan were each offered €11.4 million for a Westlife reunion with Brian. Brian, meanwhile, is said to have been offered €4.5 million to reunite with the band. A source told the publication that music mogul Simon Cowell was keen to get the full group back together - and wouldn't budge on the idea. The insider said:

“Brian had meetings with Simon. The whole thing seemed to be taking off until Simon rang Brian to say ‘one of the partners’ — a former member — was refusing to take part if it meant Brian rejoining Westlife. “They were adamant they wouldn’t do it if Brian was involved.”