Atleti bid a stress for Matt – but not for long
MATT O’RILeY admits he felt the transfer heat after seeing a bid from Atletico Madrid rejected.
Diego Simeone’s side launched an attempted raid on Parkhead to land O’Riley on a six-month loan with an obligation to buy for a reported £25million fee this summer.
Atleti had clearly been impressed by the Denmark midfielder after coming up against Celtic twice in the Champions League group stage, with a 6-0 win in Spain before a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park.
But Brendan Rodgers confirmed the offer had been booted out by the Bhoys, although there are fears the La Liga side, and others, could try again during the close season.
And O’Riley says he felt some extra pressure in the aftermath of the transfer window closing, before giving himself a shake and refocusing on the task at hand in Glasgow.
And he acknowledged that it’s a lesson learned in case he’s the subject of any more offers in future.
O’Riley said: “The first two or three games after the transfer window, mentally, it was a slight challenge because I felt somewhat a bit of added pressure on my shoulders, just slightly.
“But then I realised I didn’t really know why I was putting extra pressure on myself.
“I didn’t really need to change anything. I kind of came away from that and focused on what I bring to the team and it clicked back into place again.
“each season, regardless of it going well it will still pose a different challenge.
“Of course bids are great but it could still potentially be a negative thing if you don’t see it from the right way as well, so another thing to learn going forwards.”