Bursaspor president Enes Çelik has publicly disclosed Kelechi Iheanacho's salary after the striker chose a move to Turkey over rejoining Celtic. The 29-year-old Nigerian international, who played a pivotal role in Celtic's historic treble-winning season, has signed a three-year contract worth €1.4 million (£1.2 million), equating to approximately £23,000 per week.
O'Neill's Claims Contradicted
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill had earlier stated that Iheanacho's wage demands of £50,000 per week scuppered a potential return to Parkhead. However, speaking at a pre-season press conference, Çelik dismissed those claims, insisting the club agreed a far more modest package with the forward.
“We have been in contact with Kelechi Iheanacho for 40 days. It was a bit difficult,” Çelik said. “I just watched his training session in terms of shooting. He feels different.”
The Bursaspor chief revealed that the club's administrative manager, Furkan Akın, led negotiations. “Furkan Akın had serious contacts regarding the Iheanacho transfer. I thank them all. I thank our football department and our Administrative Manager. It was important to handle it in a way that was in Bursaspor's best interests.”
Deal Details Made Public
Çelik confirmed the financial terms: “Iheanacho has a guaranteed salary agreement with us of 1.4 million euros. We made a three-year agreement. There are players in our league who earn 2.2 million euros but are not even half as good as Iheanacho. We are also considering the club's financial structure.”
Bursaspor, who earned promotion to the Turkish Super Lig last season, beat off competition from Celtic for Iheanacho's signature after the Scottish champions allowed a one-year extension option in his contract to lapse.
Iheanacho's Impact at Celtic
During his time at Celtic, Iheanacho became a fan favourite as a super-sub, scoring crucial winners against Dundee, Hibernian, and Motherwell in the final Premiership run-in. He also netted in the Scottish Cup final victory over Dunfermline, helping the Hoops secure an historic treble.
Despite fitness concerns, O'Neill admitted he was keen to retain the forward. However, after the deal fell through, the Irishman remarked: “There are always two sides to every transfer. He’s gone, I thought we had a deal with him at the time but that wasn’t the case and so he’s gone to pastures new. The option ran out, that’s fine. But the option would be to take someone on similar terms to before, so that’s where the difference was. Where Kelechi did terrifically well for us as an impact player coming on. He started one game in my two spells against Dundee United but it would have been nice to have him for pre-season. He’s chosen to go elsewhere.”
