Kyogo Furuhashi was a superstar at Celtic pretty much since the day he joined the club. He scored 85 goals for the Hoops, won eight trophies in three-and-a-half seasons and helped them reach the Champions League knockout phase, where they will face Bayern Munich. As a result, the timing of his exit does feel a bit disappointing.
Kyogo left in the middle of the season, even though he had the chance to represent Celtic in the knockout stage of the Champions League. That is going to be a special occasion for sure.
Ultimately, there was not much more left for Kyogo to achieve at Celtic. But even then, an exit at the end of the season would have been a lot easier to deal with.
It is worth pointing out that during his time at Celtic, Kyogo was often left out of the Japan national team picture. It looks like that might have played a part in his decision to make the move to France, with Ligue 1 being considered a top five European league.
Real reason Kyogo Furuhashi decided to leave Celtic
As reported by the Daily Record, Kyogo told the media in his homeland after moving to Rennes:
"I think that if I can prove my strength here in France by playing every week I will be called up by the national team again and I will be able to show a different side of myself."
Kyogo was left out of the Japan national team squad for the World Cup in 2022. So, it is not hard to understand why he might be keen to do everything possible to make sure that he makes it to the next one.
At 30 years of age, Kyogo will know that he does not have a lot of time on his hands if he wants to feature at the World Cup. Perhaps that was a key reason behind him making the move to France, with the intention of proving himself at a higher level than the Scottish Premiership. One can only speculate.