Sead Haksabanovic reveals exact moment he knew Celtic career was over, what made him ‘sad’

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Sead Haksabanovic has opened up on his Celtic career and revealed the exact moment he knew he was finished in Glasgow.

The Montenegro international, 25, joined under Ange Postecoglou and was urged to express himself during the 40 or so appearances he made in that stint. But when the Australian left for Tottenham, Haksabanovic knew his days were numbered.

His fears were realised when Brendan Rodgers pulled him to explain he was not in the manager’s plans and that was difficult for the winger to accept.

Haksabanovic was frustrated at the knowledge that he would be sparsely used if at all and he knew he had to get out to continue his development, so he sought a loan move elsewhere.

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Sead Haksabanovic knew after speaking to Brendan Rodgers his Celtic career was over

But he claims in an interview with The Celtic Way that the Hoops board sent “mixed signals” as they rejected tabled offers even after Rodgers said what he did.

And he knew the moment he wasn’t involved in a testimonial for James Forrest that he really was finished.

“He told me, even before Kilmarnock that I was not a part of his plan going forward,” Haksabanovic said.

“In the first games of the season, I was not even in the squad, but then Oh Hyeon-gyu picked up an injury, so I was on the bench, despite the manager telling me I was not in his plans. I explained to him that I was 24, and that I needed to play, either on loan or on a permanent transfer – I needed to think about myself and getting game time.

“He said he would help me with that, but I did not feel like I got the help from him that he promised me – while the board were saying one thing, and he was saying another thing. It was mixed signals for me, so I did not really know what was going on, as the board did not want to accept any of the bids from other teams that were on the table.

“The moment of realisation was when we played Athletic Club for James Forrest’s testimonial, and the manager switched the whole team, but I didn’t play. I knew that I would not get any minutes, so I looked to leave on loan to get some game time, in order to come back a better player.

“I wanted to be at Celtic and play for Celtic, but when the manager told me that I was not part of his plan, I got sad – but that’s football, and you need to keep going.”

Haksabanovic Celtic post ‘shocked’ Brendan Rodgers

Haksabanovic posted a now deleted message on his Instagram page which hinted at a desire to leave Celtic.

It was a post which surprised manager Rodgers as the player had been offered nothing but respect from the coaching staff.

For the player, though, it was not meant as a disrespect to the gaffer but rather he saw it as a message to the board to make sure he got his exit as it was essentially a last throw of the dice.

“This was the last thing that I could do in order for Celtic to let me leave, I think,” he added.

“It was not a frustration towards Brendan or the board, but they were saying no to everything. I even told them that it was better if they let me leave rather than have me stay at the club and not be in the squad for games.

“If I was put out on loan and got the game-time that I needed, then I could have got back and fought for my place, because I told the club that if I had the same chance as playing as the other guys, then I would stay and fight for my place.

“Unfortunately, that was not the case. I went on loan to Stoke City, which started well, and I won Player of the Month, before getting injured, which made me lose any consistency I had built up.”