Vladimir Romanov has a reputation in Scottish football as a madcap personality.
The controversial former Hearts owner is well known in these parts for his bizarre decision-making at Tynecastle as well as the influx of Lithuanian players he brought to the Scottish Premiership back in the day.
The Jambos at the time ran Celtic all the way early on in their season under George Burley before he was sacked and they boasted some top players including stars who would eventually move to Celtic Park in Paul Hartley and Steven Pressley.
Another in that same vein was Craig Gordon who would become a top goalkeeper in Glasgow after almost retiring from injury.
Craig Gordon was handed blank cheque to reject Celtic
It could have been different for the stopper with Celts interested in him long before he did move to the club.
But Romanov has now revealed in a BBC documentary about his time in Gorgie that a blank cheque prevented the Scotland international from leaving Hearts all the way back in 2006.
Speaking on the BBC’s ‘Czar of Hearts’ series, he claimed: “I told him, ‘Your contract is running out and I know Celtic has made you an offer, but you’ll end up being their second-choice goalkeeper, not the first.’
“‘If you stay and sign with us, I promise you’ll play in the English league.’ He laughed, not taking me seriously. So, I said, ‘If you don’t believe me, here’s a blank contract. Write down the amount you want.’
“Gordon wrote down a very large sum – something unheard of at Hearts and all of Scottish football. I looked at it, signed it, and handed it back. That’s how we managed to keep him.”
Romanov accused Gordon of being ‘weak’ mentally
Gordon went on to leave for Sunderland in what was a record £9million deal at the time for a goalie and Romanov seemingly still holds this dear to him as a major accomplishment from his time in Scotland.
But the businessman still had criticisms of Gordon’s mentality all these years later despite the 42-year-old still going strong at Tynecastle and with the national team.
“Gordon had incredible abilities, but he required a very careful approach,” Romanov added. “Psychologically, he was weak – if things didn’t go well, he’d get physically sick, sometimes even vomit.
“He needed delicate handling. Despite all that, he was an exceptionally talented player. Ultimately, I sold him for £9m – at the time, it was the highest fee ever paid for a goalkeeper in Britain.”
Gordon made 242 appearances for Celtic and has a combined 324 outings for Hearts. And he has proven his mentality is certainly not “weak” considering Gordon made an incredible comeback at his age following an horrific double leg break.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
