Celtic hero pens emotional farewell message but leaves out key man
Christopher Jullien has left Celtic, signing for Montpellier for a transfer fee believed to be around €1 million. While it is a fraction of the £7 million that the Hoops had shelled out to sign him in the summer of 2019 from Toulouse, it is still a decent enough figure considering how the defender has struggled with fitness issues over the past couple of years and made just a solitary appearance last season.
It appears that Jullien has signed a three-year deal with the French club, with the defender making a return to Ligue 1, as he looks to bring his career back on track.
Jullien is the second most expensive signing in Celtic history and in hindsight, it did not quite work out for him in Glasgow. He did have a great debut campaign though, as the starting centre-back in the club’s 9th straight league title, while also scoring the winning goal against the Rangers in the League Cup final.
In the following campaign, though, his struggles started. He had struggled with a back problem early on in the 2020/21 season and then suffered a serious injury after colliding with the goalpost at the end of 2020, which kept him sidelined for over a year. Even when he returned, he could not break into Ange Postecoglou’s plans, and made only one appearance, that too as a substitute. Thus, moving on was the best step for everyone involved.
Jullien penned an emotional Celtic farewell message but left out Postecoglou
Following the confirmation of his move to Montpellier, Jullien wrote a farewell message on his Instagram:
"Hail Hail BhoysNow is the time for goodbye…🍀🍀First of all I would like to thank the fans for the warm welcome 3 years ago in Glasgow and being so honest with me through the up and downs. I liked your mentality and as you saw i gave everything on the pitch and Paradise always responded. What a crowd 🤩🤩Some might think that I’m satisfied finishing this way, my time in the club that gave me the first championship of my career… I let them think again.Then I would like to thank the club for bringing me here, I came here to learn what winning mentality was and I’ve learned so much, during so many great games, so thank you to the Celtic organisation.Last but not least i would like to thank my teammates, so many great players, my former coaches Neil Lennon ,John Kennedy and all the staff that was beside me during these 3 years.Once a Celtic forever a Celtic 💚💚💚COYBIGHOOPSUPSIDEYOURHEAD4EVER"
Earlier in the summer, the Frenchman was close to moving to Schalke, but a deal failed to transpire. Moving back to France could be a blessing for Jullien though, as he knows the league well already.
His spell under Postecoglou might have not worked out well, but he did enjoy quite a lot of success in his first season at the club. It might not have been the perfect ending, but there were a lot of great memories along the journey.
All we can do is thank him and wish him the best moving forward.