"That was an incredible time for me"; Kristoffer Ajer tells Brentford how good Celtic experience was

By Lewis Laird

May 9, 2022

Former Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer has opened up on his ‘incredible time’ at Parkhead after spending five years in Glasgow.

Across his five year spell with the club, which also included a loan spell at Kilmarnock, Ajer picked up nine trophies as a first-team regular, all coming in the form of Trebles under Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon.

However, the 24-year old’s time at the club came to an end in the summer, joining English Premier League side Brentford where he has gone on to make 24 appearances, scoring one goal, which came last weekend.

Despite departing after such a disappointing season last year, Ajer still looks back on his time fondly, naming the 5-0 win over Rangers, which delivered the title in 2018, as his highlight.

The Norwegian internationalist also opened up on his time living in Glasgow, speaking to the Brentford website, describing it as ‘like living in a goldfish bowl’, with the nature of football in the city being on people’s minds at all times.

“That was an incredible time for me,” says Kristoffer, looking back on his five years north of the border.

“To walk out at Celtic Park in front of 60,000 people, to live in Glasgow, to win trophies with my good mates – it was a very, very nice time.

“It’s absolutely like living in a goldfish bowl! It’s 24/7 football in that city. Half the city really, really like you; half the city hate you!

“Winning the league at Celtic Park by beating Rangers 5-0 was my highlight. I had 25 family members in the stand that day; it was incredible!”

For a player coming from abroad so young, you can imagine how overwhelming joining a club like Celtic can be at that stage of your career.

However, Ajer took to it right from the off, enjoying his temporary spell at Rugby Park before playing his part under Rodgers.

The Celtic support also took to the big defender, who was never afraid to showcase his emotions throughout a match, such as celebrating potential match-winning tackles.

Ajer clearly appreciates his time in Glasgow as a huge learning curve through the early days of his career, leading to him playing on one of the biggest stages in football.

In other news, Kristoffer Ajer praises Celtic coach as ‘one of the most important people’ in his development.