ANGE POSTECOGLOU has revealed that both Tom Rogic and Nir Bitton wanted to leave Celtic this summer.
The Parkhead club made a shock announcement this morning that the experienced duo would be leaving at the end of the season.
Both players have given over nine years of service to the Celtic and have amassed an amazing 34 trophy wins between them over that time.
And hailing the pair, Postecoglou revealed that he had hoped they would stay beyond the end of their contracts.
He said: “While we are very sad to see both Tom and Nir leave the club, we totally respect their decisions in wanting to seek a different challenge in football, having both played their part in our success for the past decade.
“They have certainly made such a tremendous contribution to Celtic over such a long and successful period for the club and I understand that in their minds the time is right to move on.
“I am sure they will leave with the sincere best wishes of our supporters having given so much of themselves to Celtic.
“From a personal perspective, as well as being very talented players, both Tom and Nir are top guys who have supported me brilliantly this year, in my first season – and again played a big role in this season’s success.
“Of course we will miss them, but we wish both Tom and Nir, and their families, great success in everything they do.”
