Derk Boerrigter spent three years at Celtic until being paid off in 2016.
Derk Boerrigter has admitted that financial gain was the only reason that he stayed with Celtic for so long.
The injury-prone Dutch winger joined Celtic for £3 million [The Daily Record] in 2013 and remains as one of the Hoops’ most notable flops in recent memory, having played only 514 minutes of first-team football.
Boerrigter, who was earning £12,000 per week in Glasgow [The Record], left the Scottish Premiership giants in April 2016 after his contract was terminated by mutual consent.
Prior to his release, the 31-year-old hadn’t kicked a ball for Celtic since August 2014.
The former Ajax man, who is yet to sign for another club since leaving Scotland, has now admitted to Exprofs that he played hardball with the Bhoys because the money was too good to leave.
“They wanted to get rid of me,” he told Exprofs. “But I stayed and, I say this honestly, it was because of the money. The salary was too good to give up, and especially if you see what my club history was.
“I played football in the Jupiler League [Dutch second tier], not just for an apple and an egg, but you will not get rich from it.
“We still negotiated, Celtic wanted to give me three months’ salary, but I wanted something more and that did not materialise. Then I stayed and got all 12 [months].”
It’s a very frank admission and Boerrigter deserves credit for his honesty, if nothing else.
Such situations invariably crop up at other clubs where highly-paid players refuse to leave for monetary reasons, but at least the former Celtic dud admitted that was his primary motivation.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
