Odd couple but Brown treasures Tierney ties
THE only explanation for Scott Brown’s bond with Kieran Tierney lies in a maxim. Opposites really do attract.
‘Myself and Kieran were totally different characters,’ said the Celtic captain yesterday of his now former team-mate. ‘He grew up loving and supporting Celtic going to every single game. I grew up in Fife.
‘For me to travel to Glasgow was a no-no. I needed a passport, I thought. It’s two totally different backgrounds and it was sad to see him go, but we wish him all the best. I speak with him all the time and always will do.’
Shortly after moving to Arsenal in a £25million move, Scotland left-back Tierney took to Instagram to brand Brown his ‘captain, leader, legend’, thanking him for looking after him from day one. Brown responded by saying he would ‘cherish the memories’ of their time as team-mates.
For some supporters, Tierney’s decision to turn his back on the quest for ten-in-arow and move south has felt like a stab in the heart. Brown believes Celtic should regard it as a ‘fairy story’. A cause for a Celtic street party.
‘For us, Kieran’s move is phenomenal,’ Brown continued. ‘He’s a young lad who has come through the ranks and shown his quality throughout his years here.
‘You sell him on for £25m and it should be a fairy story. He always will be a fan and the huge thing is that I see Ajax bringing players through and selling them on and they have a party for them leaving. We try and criticise. It’s a different level.
‘Of course, you want to see top-quality players come, but everyone has a level. Whether you are a Manchester United player, a Barcelona player, a
PSG player, you always have a price. We named ours, it was £25m and someone hit it.
‘We wish him all the best. He goes and does what he has to do and will show what a topquality player he is as well. We just concentrate on now and Boli (Bolingoli) has to push on and try to get to the levels that Kieran did.’
Whether Bolingoli can possibly hit the levels of Tierney after a nervous start to life as a Celtic player is open to question. Indeed, the Parkhead side are still in the market for a left-back with the self-belief to follow in Tierney’s footsteps.
‘Kieran has pretty much done everything here,’ said Brown. ‘He’s won a treble Treble and has played for Scotland, he’s captained Celtic and Scotland, so it’s great for him to go down the road and experience something different.
‘You will always have decisions to make and he made the best one for him.
‘He wants to go to England and test himself against the best players week-in and week-out and that’s what he’s going to do.’ Brown wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Tierney returning to Celtic one day. Neither will he dismiss the possibility of the Scotland international moving on to a stage even bigger than Arsenal. ‘You never know,’ he said. ‘He loves the club that much you never say never, but you don’t know what could happen. ‘He could have a fantastic couple of seasons and end up at Barcelona or PSG or wherever. But people playing Champions League up here or down the road? ‘It’s great for the national squad and also for Scotland as well to see players go there for £25m instead of three or four million. ‘We stood by our price and it’s theirs to refuse. ‘There are pictures on the wall all over the club of players who have left and everyone would wish them all the best and they can come back as well. ‘That’s what this club is all about.’