It will be a sad day for Celtic when Callum McGregor hangs up his boots.
The Celtic captain has been on some journey at his boyhood club, coming through as a fresh-faced teenager wanting to dance past players to becoming the conductor in the middle of the park.
During the early part of McGregor’s career, he had a brief loan spell at Notts County, but since then, whether it’s under Brendan Rodgers or Ange Postecoglou, he has been a relentless performer for the champions of Scotland.
The Open Goal panel of Andy Halliday, Dylan McGeouch, Si Ferry, and Paul Slane paid their respects to McGregor’s trophy-laden career.
- READ MORE: Callum McGregor reacts to what could happen when he and James Forrest retire from Celtic duty
Open Goal panel on Callum McGregor’s longevity
Talk was around Celtic’s midfield, including how it hasn’t functioned properly this season, as Halliday wanted to point out that, at some stage, McGregor is going to be ‘affected’ by playing ’80 games a year.’
That’s when the question was raised as to ‘how many games McGregor has played’ in his career so far, with McGeouch describing his durability as ‘mad.’
When Halliday found out that, at the age of 32, McGregor has racked up over 600 appearances for club and country, he was left in shock.
Halliday: “It has to at some point affect Callum McGregor playing 80 games a year. Every single year.”
McGeouch: “Mad, isn’t it?!”
Ferry: “How many games in his career has he played? Can we Google that? Let’s have a guess.”
Slane: “654.”
McGeouch: “No, it’s not as many.”
Halliday: “654 is a lot. How old is he? I am going for that as well. He must have 60 caps for Scotland, and all.”
McGeouch: “500.”
Halliday: “No way. I am saying more than that. I will go 625.”
Ferry: “Callum McGregor’s career appearances stand at a total number of 566, which include 525 for Celtic. 41 for Notts County. That’s just club. So it’s over 600 (including Scotland caps). That’s incredible. What age is he?”
Halliday: “31?! And he has over 600 appearances!! That’s some going. He doesn’t have the burst of pace, but he is still fit.”
Breakdown of McGregor’s career appearances
The crazy thing about McGregor is that he only turned 32 in June, and whilst he might be passing his peak years, there are still plenty of years ahead.
McGregor retired from Scotland duty after Euro 2022, so that in itself has probably added a few more years to his Celtic career.
But when breaking it all down, it has proven to be some career, and the career appearances, with so many years left, are off the charts.
- McGregor’s games for Celtic: 529
- Goals: 74
- Assists: 80
- Trophies: 24
- McGregor’s games for Notts County: 41
- Goals: 14
- Assists: 1
- McGregor’s Scotland caps: 63
- Goals: 3
- Assists: 2
- Total appearances, as of October 2, 2025: 633
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