Ramon Vega swapped his boots for spreadsheets when he called time on his playing career and ended up in charge of a billion dollar hedge fund.
The ex- Celtic hero speaks five languages but is fluent when it comes to talking cash and he reckons his former club are sitting on a fortune. Vega has been seriously impressed with Ange Postecoglou’s short and long term investment plans at Parkhead and he reckons the strategy is already paying dividends. The Hoops boss has his hands on some serious assets who are producing stunning results on the pitch that will eventually translate to huge profits on the balance sheet.
Vega believes attackers such as Kyogo, Jota and Liel Abada are future bankers, along with the likes of midfielder Reo Hatate and Cameron Carter-Vickers. He is also convinced the latest £3m investment in Alistair Johnston already looks screwed business as the Canada ace has the potential to another big earner for the Hoops down the line.
Carter-Vickers is the one that jumps out for Vega though. The centre back is build in the same mould as him and followed a similar path from Spurs to Celts. And Vega reckons the big defender is on his way to repeating his trick of winning a Treble.
The former Switzerland captain – who was part of Martin O’Neill’s all-conquering side in 2000/01 – said: “I think Carter-Vickers has been brilliant. “He’s done really well at Celtic and the most important thing for him is the fact he is clearly enjoying and that’s the most important thing.
“It’s a bit like when I came in from Spurs as well. I’d had some injuries but going to Celtic was great for my career. We managed to win the Treble under Martin O’Neill and it looks like Cameron is well on the way to doing the same.
“He was obviously a big part of the team that won two trophies last season and he’s progressed again this year. I have no doubt he can continue developing and it will be no surprise if top teams start to look at him.”
Carter-Vickers should give Celtic a bumper return on their £6m investment – but he’s not the only one. Vega said: “You look at Celtic just now and they have a lot of players who could potentially make them a lot of money.
“Carter-Vickers is one of many. I even look at the likes of Alistair Johnston. He only signed in January but you can already see he is one who could be another big asset for the club.
“He had a great World Cup and he has settled in Scotland very quickly and his performances have been really encouraging. Johnston is very much one to watch in the next couple of years. Of course you look at the attacking players, who have done so well.
“There is a group of them who will be worth a lot of money to Celtic – but they are also very valuable to the team just now. The manager will not be in any rush to sell them but you can see he does no get too concerned about the prospect of anyone going.
“That is because his recruitment has been so good. He is confident he can replace any players that leaves and still keep building teams that can win trophies.”
Vega doesn’t want to see Celtic cashing in on their assets too soon though. The 51-year-old knows from his work in the financial sector that the trick is sticking at the right time and he reckons his old club have managed to hit the sweet spot in recent years.
In an ideal world, Celtic would be the final destination for top players but Vega knows global football economics means Parkhead powerbroker have to box clever in the transfer market. He said: “Carter-Vickers is another example of the great recruitment at the club. That’s what they need to do. We all know Celtic are a huge club, with a massive fan base, one of the biggest in the world.
“But the don’t have the luxury of being handed hundreds of millions of pounds every year, like they do in England. It means they have to work in a different way. The need to find some rough diamonds or maybe dig up some gold.
“They need to polish them up and then sell them for big money. That’s the way it has to be done if they are to generate the ind of money needed to reinvest in the side and compete in the Champions League.
“But the trick is to balance that will success. It’s not easy to keep building, keep winning and keep selling. That’s what Celtic has managed to do in the last few years and it’s a model that is working very well for them.
“All of the clubs in the so-called smaller leagues are trying to do the same, whether it’s Switzerland or Portugal or wherever. The Premier League is to strong with so much money, the idea is to find and develop players and then sell them to England or La Liga. Even top teams across the continent are having to do this.”
Vega was thrilled to turn out for the Hoops in the legends clash at Liverpool at the weekend and he admitted he’s loving tuning in to Hoops games under Postecoglou. He added: “I always enjoy watching Celtic. I loved my time there and we were successful.
“It’s great to see what they are doing right now under Ange. They are playing great football and his recruitment has been excellent. The club is in great shape right now.”
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