Victor Wanyama makes surprise claim about Celtic exit

Victor Wanyama is one of the most talented players to play for Celtic over the past decade. After a couple of seasons at Parkhead, he would depart the club and join Premier League side, Southampton, for a transfer fee believed to be around £12.5 million. Now, more than 8 years later, he has made a surprise claim about his exit.

During his time at Celtic, Wanyama had established himself as one of the best midfielders in Scottish football. And he had some huge moments in Europe as well. Who can forget his goal against Barcelona in that iconic win in the UEFA Champions League?

Today, most see Celtic as a stepping stone to a big move elsewhere. But surprisingly, it looks like Wanyama did not want to leave the club when he did and was happy enough to continue on at Parkhead. But it was not to be.

As reported by Football Scotland, Wanyama said about his Celtic exit:

"“It was difficult.“I personally wanted to be there but it was also a good investment for the club. It was a good business side.“The club had to benefit to make the business side move on. I understood that.“I loved the club and I was really happy to continue there. But the situation didn’t allow it.”"

Wanyama wanted to remain at Celtic longer than he did

It is not hard to understand why the Hoops decided to go ahead with the move though. Back then, the £12.5 million fee was a club transfer record. And it was perhaps too good an offer to turn down.

After leaving the club, Wanyama did well too. His spell at Southampton was very good and he would eventually end up joining Tottenham Hotspur. He enjoyed a fantastic start there as well but would eventually fade away and did not feature for them much towards the end of his stint at the club.

There were a lot of rumours about a potential return to Celtic about a couple of years back but that move never ended up happening. Instead, he now finds himself at MLS club CF Montreal, where he is playing regular football once again.

A return to Celtic does not appear to be on the cards anymore but never say never in football.