Carl Starfelt has had some great things to say about Celtic as he finally opened up on his summer departure from the club.
The Swedish central-defender switched Celtic for Celta around a month ago, joining the Vigo side at the start of their La Liga campaign.
While his new side clearly aren’t the same size of club as ourselves, the chance to play in one of Europe’s top leagues and under a manager like Rafa Benitez seems to have been too good to turn down.
Added to the move was the opportunity to be closer to girlfriend Jacynta Galabadaarachchi who herself left Celtic this summer, moving to Sporting Lisbon’s Feminino side.
Around the time of his exit, Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers spoke openly about Starfelt’s desire to make the decision based on his family or relationships. After a month of silence, the defender has finally shared his take on all of the above.
“They presented a good project where they want to invest and push up the table,” he said of Celta while speaking to Expressen on Sweden international duty.
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“They’ve brought in Rafa Benitez as a manager as well, so that felt like a good move to me. It’s a dream I’ve had to come to a really big league.
“It is clear that it is a plus [that Jacynta is near]. She and my parents live in Lisbon, so it will be a bit closer. But above all, it was football that decided. It was maybe a little exaggerated in the media, so maybe I was a little shocked [at Rodgers’ words].
On Celtic as a club, the 28-year-old only had good things to say. Starfelt spent two full seasons in Glasgow and won five trophies, the only professional ones of his career so far. It was a glorious couple of years.
“When you leave you get a little sentimental,” he said. “Even though I am convinced that I have come to enjoy myself in Spain.
“I will always be very grateful for my time at Celtic, you understand what a great club you have been a part of.
“I will look back on that when I retire, what good years I had there. I kept saying it would be something good for me to leave, and then this came up.”
Starfelt has departed the scene now and we already have new central-defenders to talk about. His compatriot Gustaf Lagerbielke, also currently on Sweden duty, has been brought in as well as Nat Phillips and Maik Nawrocki.
We keep moving forward.
In other news, three reasons to feel very excited about Celtic after the international break