Josip Juranovic has revealed his heartache Celtic didn’t fight harder to keep him at Parkhead.
And the Croatia World Cup star insisted he had to leave to safeguard his international status after being stunned when Ange Postecoglou snapped up right back Alistair Johnston while he was still at the club. Juranovic made a £7.5m move to ambitious Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin in January after turned down an improved Hoops deal and months of speculation linking the defender with sides all over the continent.
The 27-year-old is relishing life in German but insisted he was happy in Glasgow – and he felt Parkhead chiefs could have done more to persuade him to stay. Juranovic said: “I had a really good relationship with the fans. I really loved it. It was a tough time to move way, but that’s life. I was a little bit sad Celtic didn’t try to keep me as a player there. But that is football. You can’t know your future.”
Hoops gaffer Postecoglou captured Canada star Johnston when the writing was on the wall over Juranovic’s departure. But the former Legia Warsaw full back insisted he couldn’t risk his Croatia place on becoming part of a rotation policy at Parkhead.
He said: “To be honest I was a little bit surprised because I was playing in the World Cup and preparing for my next game. Some of my friends called me and said they’d signed a new full back, what’s your opinion about that. I was just putting it to the side and concentrating on the World Cup, as it’s the biggest stage in football and I wanted to perform well. In my mind I was thinking, we would have three full backs and someone will be on the bench and someone in the stands with their family.
“I knew I would maybe not play two games in a row and maybe play the third one. I didn’t like some of that stuff – because of the national team. If you are not playing regularly for your club, you won’t get called up for the national team. That’s the main reason why I left.”
Juranovic was linked with top clubs in England such as Manchester United and Chelsea and Hoops fans were stunned when he opted for Union Berlin, despite the German outfit pushing for a Champions League place in the Bundesliga.
He said: “I didn’t think a lot about my situation because first I had the World Cup and I was concentrating fully on that. Then I was reading some news that I would be going to, I don’t know, Man United, Chelsea and so on. But we need to be realistic. This was the right move for me from my side. In my career I haven’t ever jumped two steps ahead. I am always going one step then one step, upgrading my career. I want to play football and that is the main reason why I am here.”
Juranovic insisted he had no hard feelings with Postecoglou and he admitted Celtic will always have a place in his heart.
He said: “I spoke with Ange one week before I moved. We always had an honest conversation between us. He is a good coach – a really good coach and I tried to keep him informed. My 18 months there was unbelievable. What can I say about Celtic? It’s one true love.”
