Kazim-Richards was one of the first players the Ulsterman allowed to leave Celtic Park.
In an interview with Four Four Two magazine, Colin Kazim-Richards has denied that his Celtic exit was down to a rift with new boss Brendan Rodgers.
Kazim-Richards was one of the first players allowed to leave Parkhead following Rodgers’ arrival in May, signing for Brazilian side Coritiba.
And though the move may seem like an odd one to those on the outside, it made perfect sense to the Turkish international, who speaks Portuguese – having befriended a number of native speakers while at Fenerbahce – and claims to have had previous interest from Brazilian clubs.
“Before I went to Celtic there was interest (from Brazil), but it didn’t materialise,” Kazim-Richards told Four Four Two’s November issue. “Then Celtic came up, and you can’t really turn them down.
“I’ve seen some people suggest that Brendan Rodgers said he didn’t want me, but it wasn’t like that. My heart was set on coming here, and that’s no disrespect to Celtic at all because I support them.
“In the end I had a few options in Brazil, and Coritiba called Alex (de Souza, his former Fenerbahce teammate) to get a reference on me. He doesn’t mince his words. That’s why a lot of people like him, and why we get along.”
Kazim-Richards only arrived in Glasgow at the start of the year, following a season-and-a-half with Dutch giants Feyenoord, and scored just once in 11 Bhoys appearances.
The east Londoner previously played for English sides Bury, Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers, for whom he played on loan from Galatasaray.
In joining Gala, the 30-year-old became the first ever player to transfer directly between they and Fenerbahce.
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