Flamengo president Luiz Eduardo Baptista has revealed he personally intervened to stop former Celtic winger Mikey Johnston’s move to Brazil.
Johnston left Celtic for West Brom in a permanent transfer after the Irish winger impressed in his loan spell in season 2023/24.
Since his big move, Johnston has made 42 appearances for the Baggies scoring just three goals and creating five.
After one full season at the Championship side, Flamengo came calling for Johnston and the former Celtic winger looked on the brink of a sensational move to Brazil.
However, that move fell through and here, the Brazilian Serie A club’s president has revealed the real reason he personally stepped in to prevent Johnston’s move to Flamengo.
The ‘medical report’ that stopped ex-Celtic man Mikey Johnston’s Flamengo transfer
It was first reported that Flamengo fan pressure forced the Brazilian side to stop Mikey Johnston’s move to the Brazilian top flight.
But it appears that was not the case as Flamengo president Luiz Eduardo Baptista breaks his silence on the controversial transfer move.
Baptista told The Herald, “Why not Mikey Johnston? Because the club’s medical report said he would be fit to play for 1,800 minutes a season.
“How many has he played this season? 900. So am I going to bring in a player to play 900 minutes when I still have to play another 4,000 minutes?
“These are decisions you have to make. It’s not personal against the player. It’s for Flamengo.
“He may be a great athlete, a great professional, but for Flamengo’s needs, at this moment, in my opinion, he wasn’t ideal.”
Why Mikey Johnston left Celtic for West Brom
Johnston spent a full season on loan at West Brom for Celtic and dazzled the English Championship side with some impressive goals.
Johnston said at the time of his transfer, “I felt this was the right option, I felt we’ve got a lot of strength and a big chance to get to the Premier League, hopefully, we can do that.
“I think we’ve got a strong core, leaders in the dressing room, match-winners and I think we’ve got a good chance.”
So, for now, Johnston stays at West Brom as the former Celtic man continues his career in England.
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