Ange Postecoglou Dismisses Celtic Exit Theory

Ange Postecoglou has dismissed speculation that Evangelos Marinakis tried to lure him away from Celtic back in 2022, after the pair were pictured together with then-Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper.

The image sparked intrigue among both Celtic and Forest supporters at the time, with some questioning whether the Greek businessman had made an approach.

Postecoglou, now in charge at Forest, has revealed that while he has met Marinakis a handful of times, there was never any serious discussion about him leaving Parkhead. The Australian explained that their interactions were brief and largely coincidental, including one occasion in Athens when he was presented with an award.

During that same trip, he crossed paths with Cooper, who was Forest boss at the time. Postecoglou has now confirmed the meeting was nothing more than a chance encounter, despite the speculation that followed.

Ange insisted his relationship with Marinakis has been limited, and praised the Forest owner’s ambition from a distance.

He said: (Beanyman Sports), “Look, I’ve been in his company three or four times. I don’t know him well. We were in Athens, because he presented me an award – so I had a brief interaction with him there.

“One [interaction] was two or three years ago when Coops was the manager, and we happened to be in Athens at the same time. But I haven’t spent a lot of time with him.

“From afar, you’ve just got to admire his ambition. I’ve only been with him a few times, and I just said yes to him.“

Postecoglou’s comments put to rest any suggestion that Marinakis made a direct attempt to tempt him from Celtic during his Parkhead reign. His focus at the time was firmly on building the Hoops back into a dominant force, a task he achieved with back-to-back league titles and a treble.

Now working under Marinakis at Nottingham Forest, the relationship between the two is finally formalised. But Postecoglou’s clarification makes clear that in 2022 there was no behind-the-scenes move to prise him away from Glasgow.

For Celtic supporters, the comments reinforce what they saw during his tenure: a manager fully committed to the club’s rebuild at that time, regardless of any speculation linking him elsewhere.