Dembele’s strop pays off with £20m Lyon switch
Rodgers says French striker had to go
Moussa Dembele last night succeeded in forcing his exit from Celtic as he made a record £20 million move to Lyon.
Subject to international clearance, the French striker will return to his homeland after agreeing a five-year contract with the Ligue 1 club.
Celtic accepted Lyon’s bid after a dramatic day which saw manager Brendan Rodgers denying he had gone back on his word to Dembele after the 22-year-old reacted petulantly to the Scottish champions’ initial refusal to sanction the transfer.
Dembele was ordered out of Celtic’s training session at Lennoxtown after just 15 minutes by Rodgers for conduct deemed unacceptable by the manager.
After Rodgers stated on Thursday night that Celtic would not sell unless they could find a replacement striker, Dembele posted cryptic Twitter messages which appeared to be critical of the manager.
But Rodgers insisted he had made no firm commitment to allow the player to leave the Scottish champions during the current transfer window.
“Every decision we make at Celtic will always be in the best interests of the club and our supporters,” said Rodgers.
“It is vital to make clear that we have never promised any player that he can leave the club at a particular time. It has never happened. In fact, we have said all along that we did not wish to sell Moussa, given the circumstances within the transfer window and that is why we rejected a significant offer yesterday.
“However, this particular decision to accept this offer has been taken in order to serve the best interests of the first-team squad, my coaching team and the culture and environment we have created in these last two seasons.
“The board and myself are united and they have been very supportive to me on this issue. Our real focus now turns to Sunday’s match [against Rangers] and beyond, working with our players here who are committed to doing all they can to ensure another successful season for the club.”
Rodgers had formed a close relationship with Dembele who joined Celtic in the summer of 2016 for just £385,000 from Fulham. He was unable to hide his dismay at the conduct of the player who now sets a new record fee for a player being sold by a Scottish club, eclipsing the £13m Southampton paid Celtic for Virgil van Dijk three years ago.
“It is disappointing,” said Rodgers. “I am not involved in the Twitter scene but I don’t think it’s the best way to try and get a move, to target myself or other members or the club. It is unfortunate. Moussa came in to report for work and very early on it was clear he wasn’t up to the expectations we have for training. It was best just to send him in to the dressing room. My job is to protect the environment and how we work. It is not acceptable. It is not how this group of players, with the values we have, work.”