Departing captain Scott Brown has revealed that the decision to leave the club was not taken in the last few months but was decided at the start of the season.
As quoted by Sun Sport, Brown insisted that his mind was made up long before the offer from Aberdeen came in, as he made his final appearance for the Hoops before completing his move to the Dons yesterday afternoon at Easter Road.
“My mind was made up at the start of the season.
“For me, I wanted a new challenge. I knew it was either go and do ten, or finish on nine with a quadruple Treble.
“I wanted to give it one last go, and see it as far as I possibly could. The board and everyone upstairs have been fantastic with me.
“They offered me a new deal to stay and be part of it, but I wanted to see how it worked with a different club.
“I had a fantastic time at Hibs. I came to Celtic eventually and had a fantastic time.
“Now it’s for me to try to push Aberdeen as far as I possibly can and look forward to the future in coaching, with a little bit of playing as well.
“The sad thing is that the Celtic fans haven’t been there this season.
“I’ll miss playing in front of 60,000 and not getting the chance to wave goodbye to them.
“They have been a huge part of my life over the last 14 years. They have been fantastic with me, on and off the field.
“It’s just sad that I can’t say goodbye, but I’ll be back with Aberdeen next season. I will maybe wave at them or I’ll get booed off the park!
“But I wouldn’t want it any other way because when I come back I want to be a winner, and take Aberdeen as far as I can.
“I have done that at Celtic, and have so many fantastic memories from different players and managers.
“It’s been one high after the other, but now it’s a new chapter for me at a new club.”
It was far from the ideal way for a player like Scott Brown to leave the club. With the success he has brought to Celtic as a player and captain, he deserved a full send-off in front of a capacity crowd and it would have been nice to finish his Hoops career with yet another trophy too.
Ultimately though, this is how it will end and it probably won’t come as much of a surprise to hear that Brown made up his decision to leave the club long before now with many fans also expecting that to be the case.
