Celtic’s relationship with Brazilian players is… not the greatest.
The infamous signing of Rafael Scheidt under John Barnes left scars that will probably never heal for some.
Five years later, Martin O’Neill took a chance on the once-great Juninho Paulista – but even he couldn’t show his best in Glasgow.
The Hoops haven’t returned to that market in the two decades since, but there have been near misses.
Fabricio Bruno was publicly pursued in 2019; the defender ended up taking legal action against his club, partially because the move didn’t happen.
But another former Brazil international, who is a familiar name for fans of the English Premier League, has now revealed that the Celts wanted him at one point.
Ex-Premier League midfielder reveals Celtic interest
Sandro Raniere Guimarães Cordeiro – known simply as Sandro – made over 100 Premier League appearances across spells at three clubs.
He was handed 17 caps for the national side, including a friendly against Scotland at Hampden in 2011.
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He remains a fan favourite at Tottenham Hotspur, where he made the majority of his appearances in the English top-flight.
He briefly came out of retirement last year, making a shock move to Harborough Town in the English seventh tier.
But he could have featured in Scotland, if things had gone slightly differently.
Via the Sun, Sandro said: “Celtic wanted to sign me.
“I was coming back from injury and they were thinking that Spurs would let me leave on loan but in the end Spurs wouldn’t let me go.
“But I heard about the conversation and I looked at it and I tried to understand the club a little but because it’s huge.
“I would have said wow to the Old Firm rivalry too. It’s crazy.
“I would have loved to play in those games because of the way I always played when I put on the jersey.
“I would love it like that, crazy.”
Whether or not this would’ve been a good signing depends entirely on what stage of Sandro’s career this was at.
But if the Hoops’ Brazilian curse is still present, we possibly dodged a bullet.
Other Celtic players from South America
Celtic have still had South American players in recent years, with varying degrees of success.
Marcelo Saracchi is currently on loan in Glasgow, of course – so far, he’s certainly performed better than the last Uruguayan left-back to join the Celts on loan, Diego Laxalt.
Alexandro Bernabei is another left-back to have a spell with the Hoops. It didn’t work out for him, on and off the field.
Saracchi could have a countryman join the Hoops if Wilfried Nancy can bring Diego Rossi from Columbus Crew in January.
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