Giorgos Giakoumakis has spoken candidly about his departure from Celtic in 2023, revealing he felt undervalued by the club’s contract proposal despite an impressive first season…
At the time led by Ange Postecoglou, Celtic brought in the Greek forward from VVV-Venlo, following the Dutch side’s relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2020/21 campaign.
Although Giakoumakis dealt with an injury early in the season, he still netted 17 goals across 29 matches, playing a vital role in helping Celtic reclaim the Scottish Premiership title in the 2021/2022 season.
In a video interview with Daily Record, Giakoumakis reflected on his move to Scotland after a prolific stint in the Eredivisie. He said: “The relegation with VVV-Venlo affected me a lot. Imagine scoring 29 goals and then you don’t have any offers from any other team until 26 August.
‘A ridiculous contract’ at Celtic
“Eventually, when Celtic realised that ‘All he has is us’, they really took advantage of it. I had a ridiculous contract, and then they told me when I signed, ‘Well, if you prove yourself, we’re going to sit down in summer and give you what you deserve.’
‘Then they just offered me like £1,000 more per week’
“But of course, that was a lie to bring me there. And when I ended up top scorer, winning the league, they bought me only for £2.5m, you feel like, ‘Ok, I proved myself. I did my part. Now let’s do yours’. So I talked to them, and I said, ‘Listen, you need to give me what I deserve.’ And then they just offered me like £1,000 more per week. That was the offer they made to me.”
‘I feel disrespected and you didn’t appreciate what I gave for the team and for the fans.’
The 30 year-old added: “And at this time, I said, ‘Don’t even make any other offer because I feel disrespected and you didn’t appreciate what I gave for the team and for the fans.’ The connections I had, I don’t care anymore. I am done with you, name a price, I’m leaving.”
Immediately after Oh Hyeon-gyu joined Celtic, Giakoumakis made the switch to MLS outfit Atlanta United, where he impressed with 24 goals and seven assists. His standout performances earned him a move to Mexican club Cruz Azul the next year, where he now continues his career.
He talks about his desire to return to Celtic, but that is now certainly not going to happen after making these comments. Celtic looked at him when he was at Dutch minnows VVV-Venlo and was on really low wages. He got a substantial increase on joining Celtic – the alternative was staying in the second tier of Dutch football on the same or lower money – and was happy to sign.
If he found out that others were on higher wages at Celtic than him then what did he expect? He was also injured in the first months at Celtic so missed that chance to make an impact on new manager Ange Postecoglou. Celtic did very little wrong on this one, but you have to admire the muck digging by the tabloid ahead of the Scottish Cup Final.
Conor Spence
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Talk about shooting yourself in the foot, £1000 per week is more than most people can dream
Of.