The breakdown in Brendan Rodgers’ relationship with the Celtic board was brought to light with the sudden resignation of majority shareholder Dermot Desmond in an extraordinary statement.
Rodgers was accused of misleading fans over contract negotiations and the club’s transfer business, claiming Desmond’s “divisive” behavior had “incited hostility” towards the board and management.
Desmond said Celtic’s recent woes were due to “an individual’s desire for self-preservation”, with the Scottish champions already eight points behind league leaders Hearts, who missed out on Champions League qualification.
Mr Desmond accused Mr Rodgers of “encouraging a toxic atmosphere” at Celtic amid fan protests calling for his sacking.
Here, we break down Desmond’s surprising statement and why their relationship soured.
Martin O’Neill appointed as interim Celtic manager following Rodgers’ shock resignation
Contract claims ‘totally false’
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Chris Sutton has immediately reacted to the shocking news that Brendan Rodgers is stepping down as Celtic manager.
In a statement, Desmond suggested Rodgers had received no promises from Celtic about a new deal, which he claimed was “absolutely false”.
He said: “In June, Michael Nicholson and I informed Brendan that we would like to offer him a contract extension, reaffirming the club’s full support and long-term commitment to him.
“He said he needed to think about it and get back on track. But in the press conference afterwards, Brendan implied that the club had not committed to offering him a contract. That was completely untrue.”
Rodgers was in the final year of his contract with Celtic when he abruptly left on Monday night, but previously said he had not yet received a formal offer of a new contract.
“I have spoken privately with Desmond and Michael,” he said in September. “I haven’t received an offer to reconsider yet, but until that happens, I’m not going to be so arrogant as to say I want to be here for another three years.
“The club may not want me here and I have to respect that. I will continue to do my job until something serious is written on paper.”
Comment forwarding “came suddenly”
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Watch highlights of the Scottish Premiership match between Hearts and Celtic
Desmond disputed Rodgers’ claims that he was disappointed with the club’s transfer business during the summer.
Referring to Celtic’s dominant results, Rodgers said: “You can’t go to a race and be handed the keys to a Honda Civic and say, ‘I want you to drive like a Ferrari’. That’s not going to happen.”
Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson admitted in September that the club had “not achieved all of our goals in the transfer market” following a chaotic summer of business.
But Desmond insisted Rodgers’ comments were “completely out of the blue” and that he had not expressed any concerns to the club.
Desmond said: “Every player signed and every player sold during his tenure was done with Brendan’s full knowledge, approval and support. Any insinuation to the contrary is completely false.”
“In fact, he has the final say on all football matters and was consistently supported in the recruitment process, including record investments in players that he personally identified and approved.
“When his comments became public, I sought to address them directly. Brendan and I met for more than three hours at his home in Scotland to discuss the matter. Despite ample opportunity, he could not identify a single instance in which the club had interfered or failed to support. The facts did not match his public story.”
Celtic missed out on signing top striker target Kasper Dolberg from Ajax and ended the summer season weaker than they started, having been rejected by Chelsea striker David Datro Fofana on a disastrous deadline day.
Ajax overwhelm Celtic with signing of Kasper Dolberg on deadline day
Despite undergoing a medical at Swansea, Rodgers was adamant Adam Aider could not be allowed to leave without the arrival of another striker. His move to the Championship club was announced five hours before the window closed, with no replacement signed.
Celtic then signed striker Kelechi Iheanacho after the free transfer window closed due to his termination with Sevilla.
Rogers accused of being ‘divisive’ and ‘misleading’
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The Telegraph’s Sam Dean believes Dermot Desmond’s nasty comments towards Celtic supporters are an attempt to damage Brendan Rodgers’ reputation in the long term
Desmond claimed in a statement that Rodgers’ actions had “created a toxic atmosphere” at Celtic and “incited hostility towards management and members of the board”.
“Unfortunately, his behavior since (the meeting over Rodgers’ transfer comments) has been divisive, misleading and self-serving.
“Some of the abuse directed at (the board and management team) and their families is completely unwarranted and unacceptable.
“Everyone on the board and management team has a deep passion for Celtic and always conduct themselves with professionalism, integrity and a shared desire for success.”
Three weeks before Desmond resigned after criticizing Rodgers, Celtic issued a statement saying: “The club does not accept that there is a rift between the board and the manager.”
Who is to blame for Celtic’s struggles?
The Scottish champions are already eight points behind Hearts in the Scottish Premiership and have missed out on Champions League qualification this season, dealing a huge financial blow.
Desmond laid the blame for Celtic’s recent struggles squarely on Rodgers, insisting there was nothing wrong with the structure of the club.
“Our recent failures are not due to our structures or models, but to one individual’s desire for self-preservation at the expense of others,” he added.
“Celtic’s structure, with the manager overseeing the football, the chief executive managing operations and the board overseeing, has brought great success to the club for over 20 years.”
“We all share the same ambition, which is for Celtic to achieve continued success domestically and further progress in Europe. Every pound the club generates will be reinvested towards those goals and the continued improvement of Celtic Football Club.”
Sutton: Board not blameless after ‘harmful’ comments
Rodgers returns to Celtic in 2023 after a trophy-laden first spell as manager.
Sky Sports pundit Chris Sutton said the board was not blameless for his former team’s woes.
“If you read Dermot Desmond’s statement, it’s very critical of Brendan. In many ways, when there was clearly a breakdown between Brendan and the hierarchy at the club, it was inevitable that something had to give and Brendan ended up walking away.
“It’s going to be very interesting to see if Brendan responds to Dermot Desmond’s statement. It’s quite damaging and Brendan is clearly entitled to a response. Things didn’t end well.
“I think everyone suspected that things weren’t right, but let’s make it right, the board is not blameless in this whole situation.
“If you go back to the beginning of the year, Celtic were in a really strong position. They played Bayern Munich and almost got knocked out of the Champions League and the club was on a bit of a roll. I think everyone expected the club to do pretty well in terms of recruitment in the summer, even though they lost some quality players. That didn’t happen.”
“The manager was not happy about it and it was a really disastrous start to the season.
“Celtic’s front line has lost its form recently and they are currently eight points behind league leaders Hearts.
“The club is in a bit of a bind and Brendan has decided to step down. It’s probably the best thing for the club when things are this bad.”
Analysis: ‘Significantly ahead of Celtic’
Gordon Duncan of Sky Sports News:
“If you look at Celtic’s recent achievements, when Brendan Rodgers first left the team, they relied on a familiar face in Neil Lennon and managed to steady the ship and win some trophies.
“Then, when it went downhill, they managed to hire a guy named Ange Postecoglou. It wasn’t universally popular and people questioned where he came from and his qualifications, but he won over almost immediately after coming on board and people… He did it in such a way that it made you forget about the manager search. You might have a hard time remembering that Eddie Howe was so strongly linked with the job at the time. So I think the key is always to get the guy who comes in and wins.”
“If you come in and win straight away, everything else might fall into place, but this feels like more than just a managerial problem at Celtic.
“We keep talking about it every week. Fans are protesting, throwing tennis balls onto the pitch, holding banners. Many of them want change at boardroom level and they don’t feel that the Celtic organization is working the way it should. So in a way it remains unfixed by a change of manager.”
“There are tough days ahead for Celtic. First of all, we have to get the manager right. If that manager can win everything that’s in front of him right away, then maybe the other factors will disappear a little bit, but they won’t go away completely.”
