Moussa Dembele has lifted the lid on his bitter exit from Celtic and says it’s the one thing he would change from his time in Glasgow. But he remains true to his stance. Dembele has also revealed that time has healed the disappointing differences with Brendan Rodgers which built in the lead-up to the departure.
The French striker opened up on the background of his 2018 switch to Lyon. Moving to Celtic two years previously from Fulham, Dembele had been an explosive success.
Success at Celtic and the Lyon saga
Champions League goals against the likes of Manchester City, countless goals against Rangers including a hat-trick on his debut in the fixture had put him bang in the transfer spotlight. Dembele had lit-up Europe, won every major honour in Scotland in both of his seasons and scooped Player of the Year Accolades.
When Lyon entered the scene looking to take him into one of the continent’s top-five leagues, it seemed a natural progression, yet it would not go smoothly. Celtic were not keen. Dembele felt he was due the opportunity. And so a saga played out during a dramatic end to the 2018 summer window.
Dembele's stance and Rodgers' response
In the end, Dembele departed. He had his say on social media at the time stating in a Twitter post: "A man without his word is nothing. A real man keeps his word." After the sale, Celtic released a statement in which Rodgers was quoted: "It is vital to make clear that we have never promised any player that he can leave the club at a particular time. It has never happened."
As this played out, Celtic fans were just saddened that two figures instrumental in club success appeared at strong loggerheads in the lead-up to the eventual transfer. Dembele wishes it could have been a more-romantic ending. But, at the same time, he stands by his position of the time.
Time heals and gratitude to Rodgers
And, crucially, he has also made it clear that, 10 years on, he is grateful to the role Rodgers has played in his career and that there is no bad blood, proven when the pair came together recently as the striker’s club Al-Ettifaq met the manager’s Al Qadsiah in the Saudi Pro League.
Dembele said: "It didn't end the way at Celtic it was supposed to. If I could change something, I would change that. The part where I went out. But not on my side because when I first met Brendan in London, like one month before I signed for Celtic, the plan was really, really clear: Come here, work hard for two seasons and then, obviously, we will try to send you to a top-five league club.
"So, yeah, when the opportunity came, I was really disappointed because I felt like what's been said hadn't been delivered. And that's what happened. But, you know, things happened. Everything is behind us now. Brendan’s been a massive, massive part of my career. He made me improve a lot as a player and as a man.
"We had an Invincible season, then we then made the Double Treble and he was a big part of it because he made a massive improvement of the squad. And obviously, we were playing much better football. Teams were scared of us. That's the reality. A team would just come and say: Okay, today we try just not to lose, but not to lose like 3-0 or 4-0. Brendan was a big part of that.
"He is a fantastic manager. His record speaks for himself. I don't need to say much about it. As I said, I didn't want it to end like that at Celtic, but I think he also didn't want it to end like that. I think it's the same for both parties.
"But, like I mentioned, things happen in football careers. Sometimes you are in a different place, not on the same page and that's not only football. That's in life, too. You have to step back, to see the positives out of it and just to get on with it. Simple. I just played against him two weeks ago. We drew 2-2 against his team and, obviously, everything is now behind us. He wished us good luck for the season."
Warm memories of team-mates
Dembele’s feelings towards the influence of Rodgers on his career is mirrored by his warmth when he talks of the team-mates with whom he conquered Scotland. From larger-than-like characters such as skipper Scott Brown, to the quiet-achievers such as Scott Sinclair and the homegrown talents of Callum McGregor and James Forrest, his voice shines as he looks back.
Dembele said: "I felt great with everyone. Broony led by example. A lot of other fans in Scotland hated him, but I loved him being my captain. He gave 100 per cent every day in training, in games. I was a bit young, so sometimes you can have a down day and he would just be here to push you and to make sure that you gave 100 per cent.
"He was kind of a big brother figure for the club, but not only Broony. You had Mikael Lustig, Craig Gordon, Scott Sinclair, who came with a lot of experience. Leigh Griffiths cored goals for fun. Tom Rogic was a fantastic technician. Cal started to come through game-by-game. Stuart Armstrong. We had Jamesy. He's still there and will go down in history as one of the greats of the club. Jack [Hendry] is here with me now in Saudi.
"I see Jack every day. I was in contact with Broony. The rest, I have't spoken with since leaving, but, obviously, if we see each other, we'll be just like back in the old days. There was the next season with Odsonne [Edouard] and Olivier [Ntcham] coming in. We were just getting better. It's just a shame that we didn't do the Invincible twice!"
