It’s fair to say Brendan Rodgers and Moussa Dembele aren’t exactly the best of friends right now, which is a shame given how well the pair worked together at Celtic.
There was always going to come a time when the French striker would leave Scottish football and the majority of Celtic fans wouldn’t hold that against him.
However, the way things have gone over the past few days will leave a bad taste in the mouth. An exit is understandable but if Dembele was going to show so much indignation when denied a move, then he probably should have got his agent working on things earlier in the summer.
It’s not exactly the first time there’s been talk of pushing for a late transfer.
The French media are, of course, very much on the side of the player and Lyon, and it’s all been about broken promises and how unfair the situation was.
Saturday’s edition of L’Equipe details how Dembele forced his move to Lyon. It’s claimed that on Friday morning, Rodgers asked the player for a meeting, to which the Frenchman responded: “I don’t speak to you. There is no more trust between us, you lied to me.”
After the dramatics, Dembele did indeed speak to Rodgers and was told he could go as long as the deal was good for Celtic. At first the idea of a transfer to Lyon, but then remaining at Celtic until January, was floated, but the player was set against that.
An agreement was finally found at a figure around €22m and then Celtic made Lyon sweat over international clearance, only sending it at 10.50pm.
