Celtic have had plenty of brilliant players over the years, but some have admitted to having regrets over leaving the club.
For every club legend like Callum McGregor, there have been others like Kieran Tierney have gone elsewhere and then returned.
Others have since confessed to wishing they had stayed at Parkhead longer, or left in a different way including current assistant manager, Shaun Maloney.
Choose one former Celtic player that you would pick to have in the side right now 🙌
Let us know down below 🤔
Shaun Maloney
Maloney has had two spells with the Hoops as a player after emerging as a bright talent under Martin O’Neill in 2001.
The winger ended up following O’Neill to Aston Villa in 2007 after speaking with Gordon Strachan, who encouraged him to move.
He only lasted one season at Villa before returning to Celtic and admitted that he wasn’t ready for Premier League football.
“I probably wasn’t ready to leave Celtic and found the first six months difficult,” Maloney told FourFourTwo.
“I wouldn’t say regret, but I think at the time I probably knew in my heart of hearts it wasn’t the right move.”
Another departure would follow a few years later when he signed for Wigan Athletic and ended up winning the FA Cup in 2011.
Joe Ledley
Joe Ledley has confessed to being reduced to tears after signing for Crystal Palace in January 2014.
Ledley was one of the best signings of the Neil Lennon era in his three-and-a-half years in Glasgow and formed a key part of the midfield.
“While I’m getting all my stuff I started getting emotional and Adam Matthews came up and said ‘All the best Joe’ and I don’t know why I just started crying,” the Welshman told the Open Goal podcast.
The midfielder said he still enjoyed his time down south with Palace, but leaving the Hoops did hurt at the time.
You have £100,000-a-week you could give to one Celtic player, past or present. Who is getting it?
Let us know why you picked them below
Adam Matthews
It wasn’t long before Matthews was also saying goodbye after leaving Ledley in tears.
The right-back departed for Sunderland in 2015 as Celtic looked to cash in on the last year of his contract.
While he acknowledged that the chance to play for the Black Cats was a great opportunity, he would have also happily stayed with the Hoops.
“I didn’t particularly want to leave, to be honest. I wasn’t the number one choice. I think Ronny preferred [Mikael] Lustig, which is fair enough. Lustig’s a brilliant player and he’s done really well for Celtic. So, it’s not that I wanted to leave,” he said.
“Obviously, Sunderland came in and it was a new challenge in the Premier League. So, it seemed like the right time to move, even though I wasn’t looking to move.
“It was a little bit bittersweet, really. I wasn’t buzzing to go, you know what I mean?”
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
