Former Celtic midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu has compared his 2018 move to Parkhead with signing for PSG.
Mulumbu started his career with the French giants after signing for them in 2004. At the time, the Congolese international was only 17 years of age. Ultimately, he would head to West Brom where he made his name before he used Kilmarnock as a platform to spring a career renaissance.
After one year in Ayrshire, Brendan Rodgers was on the phone as he lured the tough-tackling midfielder to Celtic Park. There was plenty of expectation on Mulumbu’s shoulders given what he produced under Steve Clarke. However, unfortunately, Mulumbu would ultimately leave the club permanently 2 years later having only made 3 appearances in total.
He’s been speaking about his Celtic transfer on the High Press Podcast, where he also claimed that he rejected the opportunity to go to Rangers and Aberdeen: “I went to Kilmarnock to enjoy football, and it was crazy because I had played five games and Bordeaux in France called my agent and said ‘We want Youssouf’.
“Steve Clarke was devastated. He said ‘You are doing a very good job for me’ but I said I was going to France to be around my family. The transfer didn’t happen, I think on the Friday the transfer failed and on the Saturday we played against Celtic, and we won 1-0 and I scored.
“From there all the teams in Scotland offered me a contract; Aberdeen, Rangers and Celtic. One week before I signed for Celtic I had a call (from West Brom) saying I think we need a centre mid. This was crazy, 30 years old, knowing the club, having experience. I spoke to Darren Moore and he said he didn’t think it would be good for the group, and an hour later Brendan Rodgers called me and said he wanted me to come after a great season.
“I messaged Darren Moore saying I really wanted to come back to West Brom, but I’m going to Celtic. It was just like going to PSG, big club, big fan base and big competition. I was going through a bad time from when I left Norwich, so I think when I went to Celtic people saw me as a good player.”
Youssouf Mulumbu looked a fine Celtic signing on paper
There was genuine excitement when Celtic nabbed Mulumbu back in 2018. It looked as though we had finally bagged the aggressive central-midfielder we were missing. Someone who could help take the weight load off of Scott Brown.
However, fitness and injury issues meant that Rodgers barely featured the Congolese midfielder. Instead, he often sat on the bench or at times not even part of the matchday squad.
His only 3 appearances came against former club Kilmarnock and in European encounters against RB Salzburg, and RB Leipzig. In all 3 he struggled badly, consistently giving the ball away and looking out of shape. It was no wonder things didn’t work out in the end.
Mulumbu would end up heading back to Rugby Park for a loan spell in 2019. No surprises that it was made permanent a year later. Nowadays, however, the former West Brom and Norwich star is back in his homeland without a club.
Moving back to France always seemed like a big goal for the player. He was always attached to his homeland, and it sounds like he would’ve tried to move earlier if the opportunity arose.
It’s just a shame how it all worked out for him at Parkhead. Mulumbu had battling qualities, but his technical ability just never shined through in Glasgow.
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