Celtic’s Sebastian Tounekti has heaped praise on Hammarby IF supporters on his return to Sweden.
He arrived at Celtic Park from the Swedish club in September2025, when Martin O’Neill’s predecessor Brendan Rodgers was in charge.
Celtic’s success has allowed them to grow their fan base in the UK and across the globe. Their supporters have a reputation for creating an atmosphere at Celtic Park, which, at times, can be intimidating to the opposition.
Over the years, current and former Celtic players have heaped praise on their fans. Joos Valgaeren spent five years with the Scottish club between 2000 and 2005.
Last September, he explained how his wife hadn’t shown interest in a move to Celtic Park. However, Celtic fans changed her mind.
Sturm Graz’s Emir Karić is a fan of Celtic and was happy to face O’Neill’s side in the Europa League earlier this season. He had also heaped praise on the Bhoys supporters.
Tounekti has been at Celtic for less than a season. He arrived in Glasgow after joining Hammarby IF in February 2025.
Celtic player praises Hammarby IF supporters
At the weekend, the 23-year-old returned to Sweden for his former club’s 1-0 Svenska Cup win over Djurgårdens IF. This gave the local media a chance to have a chat with the Norway-born Tunisia international.
Fotboll Direkt also spoke to the Celtic player, who praised his former club’s supporters on his return to Sweden.
“Hammarby’s supporters are world class. It’s one of the best things I’ve experienced and perhaps one of the best I’ll ever experience. It was absolutely massive to be back and feel the atmosphere again.
“There’s a bit of a difference between the supporter culture in Sweden and Scotland. Here, the volume is consistently high throughout the whole match in a different way.”
At Hammarby, the winger played 2,167 minutes from 27 matches, managing three goals and five assists. This helped him secure a move to Celtic in August for close to SEK 100m, [€9.3m].
Despite spending a short spell, the Celtic man insists the time in Sweden was the best so far in his career.
“My time at Hammarby is among the best in my career. Even though it was a short spell, I made loads of friends. It was lovely to be back,” Tounekti explained.
Tounekti’s contract, value and agent info
The winger has played 2,211 minutes from 37 matches for O’Neill’s side, managing five goals and two assists. This includes two goals and an assist this year, however he hasn’t scored or assisted for over a month.
| Scottish Premership 2025/26 | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 21 |
| Started | 15 |
| Minutes per game | 59 |
| Total minutes played | 1231 |
Tounekti has a contract until 2030 at Celtic. Despite the slow start, Transfermarkt shows his value, since moving to Scotland, has increased from €4m in October to €6m in March. This is the highest of his playing career so far.
He is represented by Norwegian agent Jim Solbakken’s agency, Player Solutions. The agency manages several Norwegian players including Benfica’s Fredrik Aursnes and Genoa defender Leo Østigård.
