Former Celtic midfielder Nir Bitton has explained how he could’ve left Celtic for Espanyol back in 2016 after some early struggles under Brendan Rodgers.
Bitton has called time on a trophy-laden Parkhead career that seen him rack up over 270 appearances for the club over a course of 9 years [Transfermarkt].
Nir managed to turn himself into a reliable squad player at Celtic under the likes of Ronny Deila, Rodgers, Neil Lennon, and Ange Postecoglou. However, it turns out there was a time when the player could’ve departed.
The Israeli has spoken about how Rodgers didn’t fancy him in the early stages. And as he had an offer on the table from Espanyol, Nir has told how he batted it away to try and prove the Leicester City boss wrong.
As quoted by Israeli outlet Ynet, Bitton said: “Let me tell you something no one knows. When Brendan Rodgers came to coach at Celtic, the club was in bad shape after losing the cup semi-final to Rangers, who were then playing in the Championship.
“My former agent told me that Rogers didn’t want me and that the team was trying to get rid of me, and then an offer came from Espanyol. I’m a person with an ego. When they don’t give me a chance, I’m going to show everyone what I’m worth.
“After a week of preparation for next season, Rodgers came up to me and said: ‘You can play. It’s your time.’ I smiled at him, and then I get a message from my agent: ‘Say, you’re serious, what have you done? Now they won’t sell you.’ I don’t regret it, I stayed at a huge club.”
Nir Bitton could’ve left Celtic for Espanyol in 2016
Nir seems to have undergone several big transformations at Parkhead in truth. When Rodgers came in, it felt as though he upped his game again after a sloppy 2015/16 campaign under Deila.
Now we know what fuelled that particular turnaround. Bitton was clearly left unimpressed with not being given a chance and Rodgers wanting to discard him.
The fact he did enough to turn around the opinions of one of Britain’s top managers says a lot about Bitton’s quality. He’s been an absolute stalwart for Celtic over the years and has stunning technical ability. Let’s not forget that the former Ashdod man came to Parkhead as a total unknown too.
It’s difficult to say how Nir’s career would’ve gone had he taken up the option of moving to La Liga. He has all of the talent in the world and could easily have operated in one of Europe’s top leagues.
Who knows? He may still get the chance to do so. Where Bitton ends up next is still up in the air. The player will likely enjoy a break from it all before making his final decision.
Hopefully, wherever he ends up, he makes a big success of it.
In other news, Giorgos Giakoumakis discusses Ange’s motivational Celtic message during injury woes
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
