Vasilis Barkas hails ‘fantastic’ former Celtic teammate he had a ‘strong’ bond with

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The Celtic fans will remember the name of Vasilis Barkas well. The Greek international was brought in as a big-money summer signing in 2020 as a player to get the ten-in-a-row over the line.

There was a lot of hype surrounding the signing due to Barkas’ big price tag, but ultimately, the 29-year-old failed to settle in Glasgow and was branded a failure.

Now, to be fair to Barkas, the COVID pandemic had hit at a time he had just come into Scotland and that meant that strict protocols had to be followed which meant he didn’t get the chance to settle in at Celtic like any other footballer did before him.

At the start of the Ange Postecolgou era, Barkas was loaned out to FC Utrecht where he seems to have reignited his career and helped the club to a seventh-placed finish in the Eredivisie this season with the potential to nab a European spot.

Joe Hart was a ‘pleasure to know’ at Celtic

The Greek goalkeeper was asked recently about his time at Celtic and whilst the details surrounding his unfortunate time in Glasgow are well-documented, Barkas opened up on his ‘fantastic’ relationship with retiring former teammate, Joe Hart.

Barkas said [World Football Index], “Joe Hart was a fantastic person as well as being a fantastic player, with a strong sense of humour also.

“He achieved so much by winning the Premier League and FA Cup at Manchester City, but he never had an ego. He was humble and worked hard every single day in training.

“We had a strong relationship and shared many laughs together.

“It was a pleasure to know him.”

Barkas made 24 appearances for Celtic over two seasons conceding 23 goals and keeping just eleven clean sheets.

Out of those appearances, Celtic suffered six defeats. One against Ferencvos in the failed Champions League groups stage qualification in 2020, two against AC Milan in the Europa League, two against Rangers and in the 2-0 defeat to Ross County in the League Cup. [Transfermarkt]

Now enjoying a good spell in the Netherlands, I’m sure the Celtic fans will wish him well as Barkas continues to rebuild his career.