SHOCKING NEWS;I didn’t want to leave” – Former Celtic Star Opens Up on Painful Exit

Adam Matthews left Celtic in 2015 after four years at the club. He had joined in 2011 and played a key role in a successful period for the team, winning league titles and competing in Europe. But as his contract entered its final year, the club chose to sell him. Ronny Deila was in charge at the time and had started to prefer Mikael Lustig at right-back.

Celtic accepted an offer from Sunderland, a move that surprised Matthews. While playing in the Premier League was a new challenge, leaving Celtic wasn’t something he had planned. He said he had been in early talks about a new contract, but those discussions didn’t go anywhere. Instead, he found himself on the way out, with little time to think about the decision.

Looking back, Matthews made it clear he would have liked to stay. He spoke well of Lustig and respected the manager’s choice, but admitted he wasn’t ready to leave.

Later, in 2019, when Neil Lennon returned as manager, there was some interest in bringing Matthews back. The move didn’t happen, but Matthews said he would have jumped at the chance.

He said: (RecordSport), “I didn’t particularly want to leave, to be honest. I wasn’t the number one choice. I think Ronny preferred [Mikael] Lustig, which is fair enough. Lustig’s a brilliant player and he’s done really well for Celtic. So, it’s not that I wanted to leave.

“Obviously, Sunderland came in and it was a new challenge in the Premier League. So, it seemed like the right time to move, even though I wasn’t looking to move.

“It happened quite quickly, to be honest. I went home one day, fell asleep on the sofa, woke up, and had missed calls with my agent saying Celtic have accepted a bid.