Celtic have made a fair bit of money from selling to Premier League clubs.
Brendan Rodgers knows this first hand, after last summer’s sale of Matt O’Riley – Rodgers himself notoriously made the move to Leicester in February 2019.
The Hoops boss sold Stuart Armstrong to Southampton in his first spell – Fraser Forster, Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dijk have all also made the move from the Celts to the Saints.
Whilst these clubs tend not to be close to Celtic in terms of stature, the level of the league and financial power of the clubs tend to be the decisive factors.
But one former fan favourite at Celtic Park, who made a shock move to the Premier League shortly after departing the Hoops, was caught up in a hilarious story whilst doing so.
Paul Jewell on trying to sign Celtic hero
Celtic were on a stronger financial footing relative to their English counterparts in the 1990s, but this didn’t stop players from agitating for a move away.
READ MORE: What Mikael Lustig really thinks about his iconic Atomic Kitten Celtic chant
Jorge Cadete cited personal reasons when he departed Celtic for Spain, struggling to adapt to life in Scotland.
He eventually made a return with Partick Thistle – but prior to that, he spent six months on loan at Bradford City in the Premier League.
Paul Jewell, who was manager of the Bantams at the time, has recalled the hilarious story of meeting Cadete on The Managers podcast.
Aware of his prominence at Celtic, Jewell was initially in disbelief that there was a possibility of him signing, and was reluctant due to a belief that he wouldn’t fit him.
Unbeknown to him, he had already been organised to fly to Leeds Bradford airport – and Jewell went to the airport to pick him up. What happened after was absurd.
He said: “I said ‘Jorge Cadete?’ And he said yeah. So I took him in the car, we played the game and beat Arsenal 2-1, so I go to the boardroom after the game.
“Geoffrey [chairman] is there, and he’s got Jorge Cadete and his two agents. And I see them whispering, and I said, ‘What are you talking about?’
“He went, ‘you’re the coach?’ I said yeah. He thought I was the taxi driver!”
Jorge Cadete: The original Celtic fan favourite from Portugal
Celtic currently have two Portuguese players on their books. One of whom, Jota, is one of the most adored players in the Hoops squad, despite currently being out injured.
Cadete was a fan favourite in his own right, as part of the ‘three amigos’ trio with Pierre van Hooijdonk and Paolo Di Canio.
Paulo Bernardo, the other Portuguese Celt, is currently struggling for playing time, but his ability is well-known to the fans.
All three of the players have links to Benfica, but only Cadete has played for the Portugal national team. Jota and Bernardo will be hoping to change that before they retire.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
