Martin O’Neill says Juninho was the worst-ever player he signed for Celtic.
O’Neill always responsible for bringing the likes of Chris Sutton, John Hartson and Neil Lennon to Celtic.
With this players he took Celtic to a UEFA Cup final last n 2003 and won the club’s first treble since the Jock Stein era.
And despite getting more players right than wrong, O’Neill reveals the worst signing he ever made at Celtic.
Martin O’Neill reveals Juninho was his worst Celtic signing
Juninho signed for Celtic in a blaze of publicity and expectation however it’s clear that this was a player O’Neill regrets bringing to the club.
O’Neill told OLBG, “In terms of worst signings, actually, funnily enough, I actually signed a Brazilian player, Juninho.
“Young Juninho, who had been wonderful for Middlesbrough, really, really terrific footballer for Middlesbrough. I had to man mark him in the 1997 League Cup final, Middlesbrough versus Leicester, because he had destroyed us a couple of weeks earlier in the league game at Filbert street.
“So he was a really good player, but by the time that I’d signed him, he’d been at Middlesbrough, I think, three times, you know, back and forward.
“So he had lost the edge. He was no longer the player he was. And I suppose maybe I thought that for that period we could actually rejuvenate him.
“But it never really materialised. But we didn’t pay any money for him, at the end of the day, he came on a free transfer.
“And in truth, I think that is his great days had certainly passed by that time.”
Juninho flattered to deceive and was a bit part player over his time at Celtic.
World-class in his day, O’Neill is correct, his better days were well behind him by the time he arrived at Celtic Park.
