Former Celtic target Dwayne De Rosario has opened up on his frustration after a move to the Hoops fell through in 2011. The Canadian star was invited on trial at Lennoxtown under Neil Lennon for a short spell but an agreement couldn't be made which the 44-year-old claims was down to "poor management".
De Rosario went on to have a hugely succesful career, scoring 123 goals and provided 66 assists during his time in North America featuring for MLS teams such as New York Red Bulls, San Jose Earthquakes, Toronto FC and DC United. But he still believes he should've had the opportunity to feature for Celtic when they faced Barcelona in the Champions League the following year.
"We all know what happened with the Celtic opportunity", De Rosario told the MLS official YouTube channel. "They ended up playing Champions League football, I think they played Barcelona that year [Celtic played Barcelona in 2012] and I should have been there.
“At Celtic, when I first went there (Giorgios) Samaras and I first clicked, and (Freddie) Ljungberg was there too and we had an instant connection. At the time they wanted me and I even went to a derby game at Ibrox but it fell through due to poor management."
De Rosario also revealed the structure of the proposed move was a key stumbling block because the Scottish Premiership side were insisting on it being a loan deal but only for half a season. Blackburn Rovers had shown a keen interest too, however the MLS asked for more money than the English side were willing to pay which meant De Rosario never got his dream move to Europe.
"They wanted me on loan for half a season but this was new for MLS", he added. "Now you’re seeing it happen left, right and centre. It’s healthy for the league - if you want to be a part of the game, you have to be open to the market like that.
"Blackburn were also interested in me but the MLS was looking for too much money at that time. I was thinking 'if you are wanting that much money, help a guy out!'"
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