Cost £4.5m, sold for 122% more: Celtic struck gold selling world-class star

Celtic were named the best-run club in Britain by the Fair Game Index in 2024, with this indicative of the Hoops’ off-field success in recent seasons.

Brendan Rodgers‘ side are on course for a sixth domestic treble in just nine seasons at Parkhead, having also reached the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in 12 years, narrowly ousted by Bayern Munich 3-2 on aggregate.

In the transfer market, the Celts’ business model is well-established; buy young or lesser-known players, provide them with a platform on which to perform, before selling them on for a huge profit.

While this means supporters have to compartmentalise the knowledge that their favourite players aren’t likely to be around for long, Celtic were right to sell one of their most beloved figures of recent times, given that he’s struggled since departing.

Celtic’s biggest transfer sales

As alluded to earlier, Celtic have recorded huge profits when it comes to player sales across the last decade or so, most recently selling Matt O’Riley to Brighton for £25m in the summer, two-and-a-half years after he arrived for just £1.5m from Milton Keynes.

So, let’s take a look at some of Celtic’s biggest sales.

As the table outlines, Celtic have been able to turn over huge profits for numerous players in recent seasons, with Aiden McGeady’s move to Spartak Moskva in 2010, record-breaking at the time, the least-recent of the entire list.

One player who appears on this list sold for 122% more than he was signed for, has struggled for form since departing, proving that the Hoops were right to cash in when they did.

Celtic’s latest big-money sale

Kyōgo Furuhashi, who was amongst Ange Postecoglou‘s first signings following his arrival at Celtic in 2021, will forever be a beloved figure in Glasgow’s East End.

During his time at Parkhead, Kyōgo scored 85 goals in 165 appearances, scoring eight times in Old Firm derbies, eight times in Europe, as well as bagging six goals at Hampden during semi-finals or finals.

Thus, former Celtic striker John Hartson described the Japan international as “world-class”, while Graeme Macpherson of the Scotsman believes he is the club’s ‘best centre-forward since Henrik Larsson’, which is high praise, believe you me.0

However, in January, somewhat out of nowhere, Kyōgo was sold to Stade Rennais for a reported fee of £10m, with Jota moving in the opposite direction to help soften the blow, but still leaving the Celtic support heartbroken and devastated.

Nevertheless, does Kyōgo’s form in Frances prove this was ultimately the right decision?

How Kyōgo Furuhashi is getting on at Rennes

Since making the move to Ligue 1, Kyōgo is yet to get off the mark for Rennes, failing to score during any of his first four appearances for les Rouge et Noirs; more concerning is the fact he has been an unused substitute on three occasions.

Just days after his arrival, Jorge Sampaoli was sacked as manager, and replaced by Habib Beye, and a report by Léonce Cyriaque of Foot Sur 7 claims Kyōgo does not fit into the new boss’ style of player, meaning that the striker would be surplus to requirements and free to leave come the summer.

Kyōgo has insisted he is happy in Northern France, despite making a slow start to life at Roazhon Park, which Mark Walker of the Herald labels a ‘disastrous move’ to date.

At the time of his transfer, it was claimed that Kyōgo wanted to test himself in a top-five European league to enhance his chances of playing at the World Cup in 2026.

Well, this has backfired so far. Indeed, he was not called up by manager Hajime Moriyasu for this month’s internationals, as the Samurai Blue secured their spot at the tournament with a 2-0 victory over Bahrain in Saitama on Thursday; incidentally, both Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda are in the squad, albeit they were unused substitutes.

With Kyōgo’s Transfermarkt value having gradually declined since he was sold, this underlines that Celtic were right to sell when they did.

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