Boli Bolingoli was at Celtic between 2019 and 2022 and spent half of that time out on loan.
The Scottish Premiership champions signed the left-back from Rapid Wien in 2019 and he was part of their title winning squad during the 2019/20 season.
After enjoying a good start to his life at Celtic in the first few months, the player suffered a knee injury in October 2019.
Gazet van Antwerpen interviewed Bolingoli, and he admitted the Celtic setback suffered in 2019 has hampered his career growth.
“I wanted to grow further in Scotland. I played a strong first season and we were champions. But in football there are highs and lows. I sustained a knee injury that delayed my development a bit,” he said.
During his spell at Celtic, the Covid-19 pandemic started and the 27-year-old made headlines for the wrong reasons. He made a trip to Spain and back, without informing Celtic, and then failed to quarantine himself for 14 days as required.
Bolingoli even featured for the club a few days later. His actions resulted in criticism from all corners, including from his then Celtic manager, Neil Lennon, and First Minster of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon.
Regarding this incident, the Belgian explained: “That was a mistake, as everyone makes mistakes. Celtic eventually turned the page. And so did I.”
Bolingoli was loaned out to İstanbul Başakşehir for the 2020/21 campaign and during his temporary spell in Turkey, he faced Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germian.
“I wanted to play, so Başakşehir was a good solution. It was going well until my injury. I was there in the important Champions League matches against PSG and Manchester United. We even won against United. That was a beautiful experience. In hindsight, I really can’t complain. Every career step I’ve taken has brought back great memories,” he concluded.
Bolingoli left Celtic permanently and joined KV Mechelen in the summer transfer window.
