{"id":1365,"date":"2026-04-09T17:11:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T17:11:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/?p=1365"},"modified":"2026-04-09T17:11:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T17:11:33","slug":"i-rejected-arsenal-to-sign-for-celtic-and-heres-why-its-the-best-decision-i-ever-made","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/?p=1365","title":{"rendered":"I rejected Arsenal to sign for Celtic and here&#8217;s why it&#8217;s the best decision I ever made"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_32b220\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">Aiden McGeady says he was close to joining Arsenal but said no to sign for Celtic \u2013 and he&#8217;s happy with how it worked out<\/h2>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX ImageEmbed_image-lead__Ti3qQ\" data-testid=\"leadimage\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36987491\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Aiden McGeady celebrates scoring for Celtic against Benfica\" loading=\"eager\" sizes=\"(max-width: 508px) 508px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk\/article36987491.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_CHAMPIONS-LEAGUE-CELTIC-v-BENFICA-November-2007.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk\/article36987491.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s508\/0_CHAMPIONS-LEAGUE-CELTIC-v-BENFICA-November-2007.jpg 508w, https:\/\/i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk\/article36987491.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/0_CHAMPIONS-LEAGUE-CELTIC-v-BENFICA-November-2007.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk\/article36987491.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_CHAMPIONS-LEAGUE-CELTIC-v-BENFICA-November-2007.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Aiden McGeady celebrates scoring for Celtic against Benfica\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Aiden McGeady celebrates scoring for Celtic against Benfica<cite aria-label=\"Image: SNS Group 0141 221 3602\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: SNS Group 0141 221 3602)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Aiden McGeady says he knocked back a dream move to Arsenal on his dad&#8217;s advice before he signed for Celtic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">But the former winger admits it&#8217;s the best decision he ever made.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The Irish wide man joined the Hoops in his teens and made his debut as an 18-year-old under Martin O&#8217;Neill and went on to win four league titles over four years before earning a \u00a39.5m move to Spartak Moscow \u2013 becoming Scottish football&#8217;s record sale at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">But it could have been incredibly different had he not taken the advice of dad John, who played for Sheffield United in the 1970s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Unlike his old man, who headed to England as a teenager, McGeady knocked back huge offers from down south in favour of remaining in Scotland to prioritise first-team football. It gave him the launching pad for a stellar Celtic career, and he says he wouldn&#8217;t have it any other way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">McGeady said on <a aria-label=\"Open GoalLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@OpenGoal\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Open Goal<\/a>: \u201cBefore I first signed for Celtic, the years leading up to that was when I was going on trial down the teams in England.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cI was probably quite close to signing for Arsenal. They were the biggest team I felt comfortable with.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cBut then my dad put it quite simply for me. He was like, \u2018I did the same thing.\u2019 He left school at 16, moved down to Sheffield. \u201cHe said, \u2018Look, you if you sign for Arsenal, what\u2019s the chances of you actually making it in the first team?&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;They were probably quite slim. At Celtic, you can stay at home, you can still see all your friends, you can live with your family\u2026 there\u2019s more chance of getting in the first team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u2018So I signed for Celtic and it was the best thing I\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><em><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google\u2019s preferred sources<\/strong><\/em>. <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\"><em>Click HERE.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\"><em>Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport&#8217;s newest podcast, <a aria-label=\"Game OnLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/GameOnListen\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Game On<\/a>every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Follow <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\"><em>Record Sport<\/em><\/strong>  on <a aria-label=\"TwitterLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Record_Sport\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a>, <a aria-label=\"FacebookLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DailyRecordSport\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a> and <a aria-label=\"InstagramLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dailyrecord_sport\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a> for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Celtic page, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">We&#8217;re also on WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Celtic community <a aria-label=\"hereLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/GtgsiFAaUcWKtoLw98WNeq\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aiden McGeady says he was close to joining Arsenal but said no to sign for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}