Celtic’s major shareholder Dermot Desmond has sensationally claimed Brendan Rodgers was ‘divisive, misleading and self-serving’ during his final months at the club.
After a dismal start to the season leaving the Hoops eight points adrift of Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts, Celtic announced in a formal statement on Monday that Rodgers had shockingly handed in his resignation. ‘Brendan leaves Celtic with our thanks for the role he has played during a period of continued success for the club,’ it read.
But just 15 minutes later – in a far more damning statement released on behalf of Desmond – the recently departed boss was accused of ‘contributing to a toxic atmosphere’ at the club and betraying the trust of his superiors.
‘Brendan Rodgers has today tendered his resignation as manager of Celtic Football Club,’ Desmond, an Irish businessman, began.
‘I want to acknowledge Brendan’s contribution across his two spells as Manager, during which he helped deliver success that forms part of the club’s modern history. However, I must also express my deep disappointment at the way the past several months have unfolded.
‘In June, both Michael Nicholson and I expressed to Brendan that we were keen to offer him a contract extension, to reaffirm the club’s full backing and long-term commitment to him. He said he would need to think about it and revert. Yet in subsequent press conferences, Brendan implied that the club had made no commitment to offer him a contract. That was simply untrue.
‘We met with Brendan regularly, including in December last year and at the start of the summer, with regular dialogue in between, to discuss and agree our collective strategy, priorities, and approach. Every player signed and every player sold during his tenure was done so with Brendan’s full knowledge, approval, and endorsement. Any insinuation otherwise is absolutely false.
‘His later public statements about transfers and club operations came entirely out of the blue. At no point prior to those remarks had he raised any such concerns with me, Michael, or any member of the Board or executive team. In reality, he was given final say over all football matters and was consistently backed in the recruitment process — including record investment in players he personally identified and approved.
‘When his comments were made publicly, I sought to address them directly. Brendan and I met for over three hours at his home in Scotland to discuss the issue. Despite ample opportunity, he was unable to identify a single instance where the club had obstructed or failed to support him. The facts did not match his public narrative.
‘Regrettably, his words and actions since then have been divisive, misleading, and self-serving. They have contributed to a toxic atmosphere around the club and fuelled hostility towards members of the executive team and the Board. Some of the abuse directed at them, and at their families, has been entirely unwarranted and unacceptable.’
He continued: ‘Celtic’s structure — where the manager oversees football, the Chief Executive manages operations, and the Board provides oversight — has served the club with great success for more than two decades.
‘We all share the same ambition: to ensure Celtic’s continued success domestically and to achieve further progress in Europe. Every pound generated by the club is reinvested towards those goals and the continuous improvement of Celtic Football Club.
‘Celtic is greater than any one person. Our focus now is on restoring harmony, strengthening the squad, and continuing to build a club worthy of its values, traditions, and supporters.’
The former Swansea and Liverpool manager is to be replaced by Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney on an interim basis.
Rodgers’ final fixture of his second spell at the club came on Sunday, a 3-1 defeat at Hearts, the club’s third loss in five games.
The Northern Irishman, whose contract was due to expire at the end of this season, had been critical of Celtic’s board following the summer transfer window.
They spent just £13.3million on signings – only around half of what they accrued from selling important players. It was a turnaround deemed substandard by Rodgers, who slammed the club’s lack of investment and what he believed to be strategic failures in recruitment.
He also blasted what he thought a ‘cowardly’ act from a senior club official when it was claimed that Celtic had been briefing against him in the media.
O’Neill’s first game in charge comes this evening away at Falkirk, less than 24 hours after news of Rodgers’ departure was announced.
At 73 years old, the former Aston Villa boss returns to Celtic Park some 20 years after his first stint at the helm came to an end.
He became an iconic figure at Celtic during the mid-2000s and is joined in the dugout by another former star, Shaun Maloney.
The Scotsman spent nine years in Glasgow over two stints, making more than 200 appearances.
He has since gone in to management and was sacked as Wigan’s head coach earlier this year.
Rodgers joined Celtic for a second time two years ago and won them another couple of Premiership titles, as well as the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup.
The Northern Irishman first walked out on the Glaswegian giants to join Leicester City, a decision which was received with acrimony after a trophy-laden stint.
Daily Mail sport has approached Rodgers for comment.
