‘Celtic is a giant’ – Former Hoops striker reflects on unforgettable Parkhead spell

Former Celtic striker Moussa Dembele has reflected fondly on his time at Parkhead, admitting it was only after leaving Glasgow that he fully appreciated what he had achieved.

Dembele arrived at Celtic from Fulham as a relatively unknown teenager in 2016 but quickly established himself as a fan favourite, famously scoring a hat-trick against Rangers in his first Glasgow derby.

The Frenchman scored 51 goals for the Hoops and played a major role in Brendan Rodgers’ all-conquering side before leaving for Lyon in 2018.

Now 30 and playing for Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia, Dembele believes his move to Celtic represented a huge step in his career.

Dembele told the Daily Record: “I did some good stuff [at Fulham], but Celtic is a giant. It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world, so going there was a big step for me. And coming as a young player, no-one really knew about me and I had to make a name for myself.

“To do it was really really special and that was one of the best parts of my career. I knew that I could do that since I was young.

“That was my dream: to play in a big club, to play in Champions League, to play in front of 60,000-odd fans. I would say that was a dream of everyone who loves football. Playing in Paradise was fantastic.

“The fact that I spoke English helped me a lot, but it took me around a week or 10 days to understand because, obviously, the accent is different. Now it’s fine. I’m with Jack Hendry here in Saudi and I’m the only one who understands him!”

On what the team achieved, he continued: “I think we as players, the coaching staff and everyone, we didn’t realise when everything was happening because everything is going fast. You have games every three days.

“One season finishes in Scotland, and the next one starts we start really early because of the Champions League qualifiers. You don’t really have the time to sit back and to look back on what you did the previous season. I think when I really realised what we did is when I left Celtic.

“That’s when I really realised that it was a massive achievement as a player and as a team also. I remember it all like yesterday, although I’m not that old to forget!”