Celtic aren’t going to be under new ownership any time soon, something that was made abundantly clear by the Desmond family and chairman Peter Lawwell at the club’s AGM.
Dermot Desmond is the most prominent shareholder at the Scottish champions and his influence is felt across the club despite operations being entirely self-sufficient.
Notably, it’s thought that he is the king-maker when it comes to determining who a new Celtic manager should be when the time comes.
Today, Desmond owns a 34.7% stake in the Bhoys. In the modern age of football where takeovers are common and big money investment can come from leftfield, it’s easy to consider that one day Celtic might come under new control.
Celtic ownership addressed by Desmond family
Not so, says Ross Desmond – son of Dermot – who represented the family at Wednesday’s AGM. He has pledged that the Desmond’s stake in Celtic won’t change hands while he or his father are still alive.
He said yesterday [Scottish Daily Mail, 23/11 print edition]: “My dad grew up a passionate Celtic fan from when he was a young kid. He is a hugely passionate Celtic fan.
“It’s the first thing he thinks about when he wakes up, the last thing he thinks about when he goes to sleep. We don’t consider ourselves shareholders in the club, we’re huge fans and custodians. Not in his lifetime, nor in my lifetime, will we be selling our stake in Celtic so it’s not an issue for us.”
Chairman Peter Lawwell, who has been at the club for more than 20 years in various roles, concurred with the assessment that Celtic won’t be under new ownership.
He added: “My view on the situation of Celtic’s present ownership, and not just the Desmond family but others, is that they are into Celtic for the long-term.
“They see themselves as custodians of this magnificent football club, to protect the values and standards for the long term — for the good of the club and the good of the supporters.”
It seems that the status quo will be continuing at Celtic for quite a while yet, perhaps even for another generation if Ross Desmond ends up with the keys to the club.
In other news, Matt O’Riley credits Lennoxtown coach helping him improve at Celtic.
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