Former Celtic winger Derk Boerrigter has told SoccerNews that he was disappointed with his spell at Celtic Park.
The 37-year-old was at Celtic for three years between 2013 and 2016, and struggled with multiple injuries during his time with the Bhoys. This impacted his playing time as he managed a goal and two assists from 37 games.
Celtic signed the Dutchman from Ajax when Neil Lennon was in charge at Celtic Park. A year later, Lennon was replaced by Ronny Deila.
Boerrigter was restricted to three appearances under Deila during the 2014/15 season and didn’t make an appearance in his final season at Celtic Park. The former Bhoys man has been critical of Deila when explaining his struggles at the Scottish Premiership club.
“The first year I struggled with injuries and the second year there was a coach who I didn’t get along with. That was a really worthless guy. He wanted me to play football in a way that did not suit me. After that he didn’t use me for the whole year,” he said.
Boerrigter has also revealed Celtic initially made it difficult for him to move to another club, likely in the summer of 2015.
“I was allowed to look for a new club, but Celtic asked too much money for me. I was then allowed to leave on a free transfer, but the clubs that came then did not appeal to me or the salary difference was too big. I decided to stay, and that’s when the trouble started,” Boerrigter explained.
When the Bhoys opened the exit door, he wasn’t keen and this clearly didn’t please Celtic, who the Dutchman says took steps to make him uncomfortable.
“They started harassing me in the hope that I would terminate my contract. That’s part of football, unfortunately. I have always shown my best side, but it was a difficult period,” he said.
“I would have preferred to leave, but the right options did not appear. After three years there was no club that wanted me anymore.”
The former attacker ended his playing career after leaving Celtic in 2016 and believes the Bhoys ‘destroyed’ his career.
“These are harsh statements, but I do have that feeling. Instead of making me fit, they made me even more injured. I was recruited with high expectations, but I was never top fit for one minute,” Boerrigter added.
Even though the Dutchman is still angry with how Deila treated him and about his time at Celtic, he thinks they are a ‘fantastic club’.
