Neil Lennon was paid around £600k to leave Celtic in February of this year. Despite it being evident that the Irishman’s time was up, the club persisted before eventually paying a large settlement to the manager.
According to leading football accountant, Swiss Ramble on Twitter, Celtic paid Lennon the settlement figure to bring to an end his time as manager.
#CelticFC mitigated revenue losses by “tight cost control” with lower wages, down £4.5m (8%) from (restated) £56.2m to £51.7m; player amortisation, down £0.4m to £11.8m; player impairment, down £2.1m; and other expenses, down £1.7m (8%). Includes £0.6m for Neil Lennon departure.
— Swiss Ramble (@SwissRamble) November 8, 2021
Lennon was extremely lucky to be reappointed a second time but managed to seal some impressive results during his second tenure as Celtic matched their own record of 9IAR. His attempts to win 10IAR ended in disaster as he vacated the role in February, with the League all but mathematically lost.
With that said, Lennon won ten titles with Celtic, eight Scottish Cups and three league cups in two spells as manager and as a player. He will always be a Celtic legend but it was clear that his time as manager was up. Lennon will be recognised for all that he has done for the club but it may take some time as this season has been incredibly tough for everyone involved. It is probably not helped that Lennon crops up in the media from time to time voicing his displeasure at the way he believes he was treated but he has made some valid points regarding the treatment that he received in comparison to Steven Gerrard.
Anyways, it is still fascinating to see that Celtic paid such a premium figure to Lennon despite the failings of last year. Admittedly, there is probably a great deal that went on behind the scenes that we are not aware of. Lennon’s place in the history of the club is sealed for all that he achieved up until 2020/21 but he will always be tied to last year and the disaster that played out in all competitions, behind closed doors.
