Aiden McGeady departed Celtic in 2010 to join Spartak Moscow. The move involved a transfer fee around £9.5 million, which made him the most expensive export from Scottish football at that point of time. Since then, he has had a decent but not spectacular time, but never quite reached the expectations that surrounded him. He currently plays for Sunderland in English League One and even at the age of 35, is a key player for them.
McGeady had come through the youth ranks at Celtic and managed to become a first-team regular at the club. Thus, it was a bit out of the blue when he joined Spartak Moscow, but then, with the transfer fee involved, it was not a huge surprise that it happened.
Now though, it looks like it was the pressure of playing for Celtic, and the expectation of winning almost every game, that ended up playing a factor in his Parkhead exit back in 2010.
As reported by Everton Football Club’s official website, McGeady said about the situation surrounding his Celtic departure:
"“I was playing for the club I supported, winning trophies and playing in Europe, which was all amazing – but there is so much pressure and expectation.“If you don’t win, it is a crisis.“It is a brilliant city but everyone in Glasgow is football obsessed and it can be difficult to get a minute to yourself. That is one of the reasons I left.”"
McGeady reveals why he decided to leave Celtic
It is not hard to see why the pressure of playing for Celtic can get to many. The expectation is there to win every game, at least domestically, and even a draw is viewed as a terrible result.
Thus, it can be quite difficult to play under such pressure for season after season for many. Thus, one can see where McGeady is coming from on the matter.
He would leave for Spartak Moscow in 2010 and had a decent time there, before moving to Everton a few years later. That move did not go as he would have envisioned though, as he did not play a lot of football for the Merseyside club and would ultimately end up moving to Sunderland in 2017.