Former Celtic defender Erik Sviatchenko has vented on a failed move to Leicester City from the Scottish champions - just before Brendan Rodgers bombed him out of the starting line-up.
The Dane left Glasgow's east end permanently in 2018 for Midtjylland having claimed two Scottish Premiership titles, two League Cup medals and lifting the Scottish Cup once. The Treble winner was a regular during the early days of Rodgers' time in charge, but was surprisingly phased out of regular action in the second half of the Invincible 2016-17 campaign for Dedryck Boyata.
Sviatchenko claims there was no warning from the then-Parkhead boss before his Celtic career was derailed - with the decision coming after a bid from the Premier League side was knocked back in the 2017 January window. Speaking to Danish outlet 'Offside', the 32-year-old revisited the sliding doors moment in his career that saw his big move south of the border fall apart.
The centre-back said: "We had an extremely good relationship (Rodgers) with each other, but from one to the other I also felt... I had played every game in the Champions League and had started in every game, and then we go on winter break. There was a lot of talk with Leicester about a possible transfer, because I had done really well in Scottish football.
"Leicester were ready to pay a three million sum for me at the time, but the move fell through when Celtic demanded more money. Then we come back from the break after a week and we go to training camp.
"I'm suspended for the first game after a yellow card and without explanation I just don't play anymore. Then he plays Dedryck Boyata, who is also a fantastically skilled player. He hadn't seen much playing time for nine months, but suddenly I wasn't playing. I didn't play the second match either, and I didn't play the third match either."
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