Mikael Lustig has revealed he nearly left Celtic after just SIX MONTHS.
The Celtic hero joined the club from Rosenborg in Norway after penning a pre-contract agreement in November 2011. He hooked up with the team that January and admits that his first half of the year was not good. An interested proposition landed on his lap that summer with La Liga outfit Sevilla asking if they could buy or loan the defender.
Neil Lennon and his staff were determined to keep the Swede and the rest is history as the full-back went on to spend a trophy-laden eight seasons at Paradise. He won eight league titles, four Scottish Cup, four League Cups and also experienced big Champions League nights under the lights. Almost four years have passed since he last pulled on the hoops as he reflected on joining the club and that opportunity that nearly ended his career in Scotland before it even got started.
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Speaking to the Celtic View Podcast about signing, Mikael Lustig said: “I signed in 2011 in November but I had to wait until the January window to come.
“The season with Rosenborg had finished in November and I felt like I needed a month off, but if I were to go back then I would go to Glasgow right away to train for a month with the team.
“I took a couple of weeks off and I thought I would go in and they would build me up, but I went straight into training and there were better players and the tempo was higher, so my first half of a year was not good.
"When I came back in the summer, Sevilla asked if they could buy or loan me and I felt my start here wasn’t the best so I thought maybe I should go.
“I’m happy Neil Lennon and the staff said they wanted me and then I started to kick on in my Celtic career.”
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