Ex-Celtic star announced as national ambassador for Football Manager 2026

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The Celtic board would’ve been proud of how the Football Manager franchise has been handled over the last year.

The beloved football simulation game, which Ange Postecoglou has admitted to once being addicted to, releases a new edition every year.

Or at least, it’s supposed to. But after significant errors in production, Football Manager 2025 was never released.

The next edition, coming in the UK next month, will therefore be even more eagerly awaited as the first release in two years.

So it’s understandable that Sega-owned Sports Interactive, who produce the game every year, are wheeling out the big guns to promote it.

Football Manager link up with ex-Celtic star

The franchise has licences with leagues in every corner of the globe, reflecting its worldwide player-base.

Part of the appeal of Football Manager as opposed to its main competitor EA FC (formerly known as FIFA) is the extent of the game’s database, aimed at simulating as accurate an experience of football management as possible.

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So why not start in a save in Korea? After all, the game’s Korean ambassador has been announced as ex-Hoops midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng.

He features in a teaser ad for the game, which is released globally on the fourth of November. It is available on PCs, consoles, mobile and Nintendo Switch – the latter at a later date.

Ki made 87 appearances for the Hoops across two-and-a-half seasons. Perhaps his best moment in Hoops came in the 2011 Scottish Cup Final, when he opened the scoring with a sublime hit against Motherwell.

He would go on to feature for Swansea, Sunderland and Newcastle in the Premier League, and earn 110 caps for his national side.

Aged 36, he is still playing for Pohang Steelers in his homeland.

Celtic’s Korean players through the years

Ki was the first Korean to play for Celtic, but the second came shortly after when Cha Du-Ri was signed in 2010.

They were fan favourites as a pair – but Cha’s own-goal against Rennes will still give many Hoops fans – and probably Fraser Forster – torrid nightmares.

The Hoops went over a decade without a Korean signing until January 2023, when Hyeon-Gyu Oh was signed by Ange Postecoglou. Oh scored the winner at Ibrox last for Genk last month.

Hyeok-Kyu Kwon never made a first-team appearance for the Hoops after his signing in 2023, but Hyun-Jun Yang has made over 70. He is the only man from Korea currently on the books at the club – whether or not he is a Football Manager player is sadly a mystery, though.