Kieran Tierney has opened up on his first conversation with Brendan Rodgers at Celtic as he told him NOT to sign for Arsenal.
The Hoops diehard and fans' favourite eventually made the move to the Emirates for a huge fee in 2019 - but he could have ended up at his current club even earlier. However, the former Liverpool boss made his pitch as he spoke about making the Scotland international a senior pro and getting lots of games under his belt for his boyhood club.
Rodgers - now in charge at Leicester City - also made a massive first impression on the Celtic squad as he arrived. Tierney admits just that first meeting convinced him something special was in wait for the Hoops while Scottish football also went on the up massively due to his high profile arrival in Glasgow's east end.
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He told the Currie Club podcast: “We went into a meeting on the very first day. We had a presentation – ‘This is who I am, this is what I’ve done, this is what I believe and this is how I want to play’. Then he introduced his staff as well with a PowerPoint on what they had done.
“We thought ‘This is the ultimate professional, this will change us as a team’. I also think it helped Scottish football massively as well, him coming in.
“I also remember the first conversation I had with him because there were rumours of me actually going to Arsenal that season as well. I think they had placed a bid. But he spoke to me and said, ‘We want you to stay here. We want you to play and get all these games under your belt, become a senior pro and not just a young player’.”
Tierney would eventually leave Celtic for the riches of the English Premier League. He's a fans' favourite with the Gunners and now reached the 100 appearance milestone for the current EPL league leaders.
He starred in a 1-0 win over PSV last night to make it four wins from for in the Europa League group stage - with former Rangers midfielder Mikel Arteta and his troops flying on all fronts so far this season.
Tierney admits his transfer 'made sense for everybody' as he opened up on 'heartbreaking' departure from Celtic. He said: “It was so hard. There wasn’t one moment where I was thinking, ‘I want to leave Celtic’. But you know if a club are going to sell you or not. You’ve got a feeling inside you.
“At the time it made sense for everybody really. They’d brought someone through the youth academy who they were so proud of and he’s going for a record fee.
“I’m someone who loves the club. I’ve given everything from the day I joined at seven until the day I left and I was going on to play for a huge club who believed in me and backed that up with £25m.
“It was something that worked for everybody but it was the hardest decision of my life as well. I was so excited to go to play with and against the best players in the world, and it’s such a massive club, but it was heartbreaking.”
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