IT’s been nine months since he left Celtic.
But Sead Haksabanovic has now finally lifted the lid on what led to his Parkhead exit last June.
Sead Haksabanovic was ‘sad’ to leave Celtic last year[/caption]
He admits a break down in relationship with Brendan Rodgers led to his exit[/caption]
Haksabanovic, 25, spent two years at Celtic after joining the club for £2.5million under Ange Postecoglou.
He played regularly under the now Tottenham Hotspur boss but he quickly fell down the pecking order when Brendan Rodgers replaced the Aussie in the hot-seat.
The winger made just two appearances in the first half of the 2023/24 campaign – both in August – before being shipped out on loan to Stoke City.
The Montenegro international then sealed his permanent exit at the end of the campaign when Malmo swooped in with a club-record bid for the outcast.
Now reflecting on his “sad” Celtic departure almost a year later, Haksabanovic has revealed how it all went wrong for him in Glasgow.
The 25-year-old has confessed it was a break down in relationship with Rodgers which sparked it all.
The wide-man claims he was given mixed signals from Rodgers and the Hoops board before eventually calling it a day at Parkhead.
Speaking to the Celtic Way, he said: “He told me, even before Kilmarnock (in a League Cup last 16 tie) that I was not a part of his plan going forward.
“In the first games of the season, I was not even in the squad, but then Oh Hyeon-gyu picked up an injury, so I was on the bench, despite the manager telling me I was not in his plans.
“I explained to him that I was 24, and that I needed to play, either on loan or on a permanent transfer – I needed to think about myself and getting game time.
“He said he would help me with that, but I did not feel like I got the help from him that he promised me – while the board were saying one thing, and he was saying another thing.
“It was mixed signals for me, so I did not really know what was going on, as the board did not want to accept any of the bids from other teams that were on the table.
“The moment of realisation was when we played Athletic Club for James Forrest’s testimonial, and the manager switched the whole team, but I didn’t play.
“I knew that I would not get any minutes, so I looked to leave on loan to get some game time, in order to come back a better player.
“I wanted to be at Celtic and play for Celtic, but when the manager told me that I was not part of his plan, I got sad – but that’s football, and you need to keep going.”
Haksabanovic caused a stir in August 2023 with a controversial social media post in the wake of the League Cup defeat to Kilmarnock.
The Instagram post read: “If they don’t see your value, maybe you’re not at the right place.”
The 25-year-old insists he has no regrets over the post and is convinced it was the only way to get the board’s attention.
He continued: “This was the last thing that I could do in order for Celtic to let me leave, I think.
“It was not a frustration towards Brendan or the board, but they were saying no to everything. I even told them that it was better if they let me leave rather than have me stay at the club and not be in the squad for games.
“If I was put out on loan and got the game-time that I needed, then I could have got back and fought for my place, because I told the club that if I had the same chance as playing as the other guys, then I would stay and fight for my place.
“Unfortunately, that was not the case. I went on loan to Stoke City, which started well, and I won Player of the Month, before getting injured, which made me lose any consistency I had built up.”
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