There would have been a sense of panic from Celtic fans this week when news broke about Matt O’Riley and Atletico Madrid.
Even the most ardent of Celtic supporters probably accept that the 23-year-old will leave in the summer, but not now, it just simply can’t happen now!
Spanish giants Atletico Madrid put down a loan offer to buy Matt O’Riley, but that was swiftly shut down by the powers that be at Celtic.
Peter Grant stated that you have to ‘tip your hat’ to the club for making such a ‘massive’ call, as he told Go Radio.
There would have been serious anger from the fanbase if they watched their star midfielder leave midway through the campaign, after already complaining about a lack of transfer action this month.
Whilst the fans wanted (ed) new additions this month, the fact of the matter is it hasn’t happened yet to the standard they accepted – that’s why Andy Walker was critical of manager Brendan Rodgers.
Either way, the good news is that Matt O’Riley is staying until the end of the season to, hopefully, guide the team to yet another title.
Matt O’Riley and Atletico Madrid
“Massive,” for Celtic to say ‘no’ to Atletico Madrid says Grant.
“At the end of the day, he is just like a new signing. He has been outstanding. If you had lost him, then that was a massive blow. There is no doubt about that. It would have been a massive lift to Rangers as well.
“You have got to tip your hat to Celtic and say ‘well done’. Keeping him here is so, so important to the way the team plays. The amount of goals he has scored. The amount of assists he has had, it has been brilliant.
“But I think his all round game, defensively, has improved so much. He is an intelligent boy, Matt. He knows the game. He understands the game. He watches football and wants to improve. That’s a massive piece of business until the summer. We know that.
“The thing I am delighted with is that he hasn’t come out shouting ‘I want to go, I want to do this and I want to do that’. Come the summertime, that completely changes. We understand that. He knows how important he is for Celtic and how important Celtic has been for him.”
Matt O’Riley – the best in Scotland
Nobody in the country touches the talents of the Denmark international, who is deserving of playing at the highest of levels.
This is just a case of accepting he will leave. As he proved for Celtic this season in the Champions League, he belongs at that level.
From Celtic’s point of view, the fans will be hoping that players like Matt O’Rley stay because he is the key to the club going to the next level on the biggest of stages.
But the simple fact is that teams in Scotland, even the Treble winners, simply can’t compete with others around Europe because of the gulf in finances.
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