Charlie Mulgrew was an extremely popular player at Celtic by the fans during his five-year spell at the club.
Signed by Neil Lennon in 2010, Mulgrew enjoyed a trophy-laden spell at the club winning five league titles, two Scottish Cups and a League Cup. [Transfermarkt]
Part of Ronny Deila‘s Celtic squad that lost to Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final in 2016, Mulgrew never saw the first Brendan Rodgers era after he rejected a new deal which saw him leave the club to go Blackburn Rovers in that same summer.
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So why did Mulgrew not stay at Celtic as surely his experience would have been crucial for Rodgers in that season?
Mulgrew ‘knocked back’ Rodgers’ Celtic offer
At the time Rodgers came in, Mulgrew was 30 years old and still in his prime for a defender and whilst Rodgers did want his own players in, it seems that the Irishman did offer the Scottish international a new deal. That’s according to Paul John Dykes from A Celtic State of Mind.
Dykes said (A Celtic State of Mind), “And famously he was one of the senior players that left the club when Brendan came in.
“I didn’t know until recently that Charlie was offered a contract by Brendan Rodgers and he knocked it back because it wasn’t long enough.
“I think he wanted a three-year deal and it was a one-year deal and that’s why he left.
“So there was no fallout. He has maintained a good relationship with Brendan Rodgers who invited him up to Lennoxtown earlier on in the season.”
Such a shame as Mulgrew would have been an excellent member of that Celtic team as he was a leader and popular within the dressing room.
Just imagine him, Mikael Lustig and Scott Brown in the same dressing room during that successful spell? Absolute carnage.
