Celtic FC

Top 10 Celtic Players of All Time

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Celtic are one of the most successful teams in Scotland and here we learn about the top 10 Celtic players of all time. 

10. Bertie Auld

Bertie Auld (Credit: SkySports)

Celtic’s famed Lisbon Lions won the European Cup in 1967, and Robert “Bertie” Auld was a part of the team. He mostly featured as a left midfielder. But he was good at scoring crucial goals in important games. He picked up 53 goals in 176 matches across all competitions, helping his club win 6 Scottish championships, 4 Scottish cups, 1 English League Cup, 5 Scottish league cups and 1 European Champion Clubs’ Cup.   

9. Packie Bonner

Packie Bonner (Credit: Image: Sunday Mail)

Packie joined Celtic from Keadue Rovers in 1978 and made his debut on St Patrick’s Day 1979 in a 2-1 win against Motherwell at Celtic Park.

When famous Celtic goalkeeper Peter Latchford hurt his hand in August 1980, Bonner was pushed into the deep end for Danny McGrain’s testimonial game at Parkhead against Manchester United. Up a 0-0 draw, he put in a fantastic performance, and from then on, he was to be the established Celtic number one. Bonner went on to become a key member of Celtic’s team during the 1980s and early 1990s.

8. Henrik Larsson

Henrik Larsson (Credit: planetfootball.com)

Larsson was signed for £650,000 in 1997. Along with Simon Donnelly, Harald Brattbakk, and Darren Jackson, he played a supportive role in the club’s inaugural season. He was moved to the role of primary striker when his second season at Celtic began. He scored 242 goals in 315 games with the club. Despite the fact that his team lost 3-2 in the 2003 UEFA Cup final, he was the one who scored both goals. During his seven years at the club, the club won the Scottish Premier League four times and the Scottish Cup twice.

7. Bobby Lennox

Bobby Lennox (Credit: celticquicknews.co.uk)

Celtic recruited Lennox, at 18 years old, from Scottish Junior team Ardeer Recreation in 1961, and he made his first team debut in March of the following year. With 273 goals in all competitions, he became Celtic’s second top goalscorer of all time.

He was a part of the 1967 European Cup-winning Celtic squad, known as the Lisbon Lions, and won 11 League crowns, 8 Scottish Cups, and 5 League Cup trophies.

6. Paul McStay

Paul McStay (Credit: (Image: Daily Record))

Paul McStay devoted his whole professional career to playing for Celtic, and his first step toward that goal was signing up with Celtic Boys Club in 1981. In 1982, his club overcame Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup, demonstrating his brilliance for the first time. His squad went on to win 3-1 against Aberdeen a week later.

He had become a globally known football star by the end of 1986, having won two league titles. His success lasted until 1997, when he decided to quit. His name is inscribed in the Scotland Football Hall of Fame, where he is regarded as one of the best in his profession.

5. Jimmy McGrory

Jimmy McGrory (Credit: alchetron.com)

McGrory is Celtic’s all-time leading scorer, with 489 goals in 448 appearances. He even turned down an offer that would have made him the highest-paid player of all time in 1928 because he couldn’t stand leaving his favourite team. The irony is that they were banking on it to provide a big cash boost to their bank account. As a result, they reduced his pay, but McGrory was unconcerned about it; he was more than delighted to don the team’s uniform and march to a fresh triumph. If it isn’t genuine drive and loyalty, I don’t know what is.

4. Patsy Gallacher

Patsy Gallacher (Credit: donegaldiaspora.ie)

Patsy joined Celtic from Clydebank Juniors in 1911 and stayed with the club for 14 years. Patsy scored 195 goals in 464 games in major competitions, placing him sixth on Celtic’s all-time scoring list after Jimmy McGrory, Bobby Lennox, Henrik Larsson, Stevie Chalmers, and Jimmy Quinn.

One of Celtic’s finest players of all time, Patsy, dubbed “Mighty Atom,” was one of the best dribblers in the league, and his brazen talent saw him tease and scare defenders. He was a showman, but his sassy talents had a payoff: he could make a lethal pass or hit an unstoppable shot.

Gallacher won six Scottish First Division titles, four Scottish Cups, four Glasgow Cups, and eleven Glasgow Charity Cups with Celtic.

3. Kenny Dalglish

Kenny Dalglish (Image: Daily Record)

Kenny grew up in the shadow of Rangers’ Ibrox Park and was a fan of the club as a child. Sean Fallon was dispatched by Celtic manager Jock Stein to see Dalglish and his parents at their house; when Dalglish heard Fallon knocking, he ran upstairs to remove the Rangers posters from his bedroom walls.

Celtic recruited teenager Kenny Dalglish on a probationary contract in the month of May 1967. Dalglish was loaned out to Cumbernauld United in his debut season before returning to Celtic Park as a full-time professional in April 1968. Before joining Liverpool in 1977, he won four league titles and four cups with the club.

2. Billy McNeill

Billy McNeill (Credit: Daily Record)

The legendary captain of the Lisbon Lions contributed to the team’s victory in the 1967 European Cup. He has a long list of achievements : The European Cup final, seven Scottish Cups, nine Scottish League Championships, and six Scottish League Cups have all been won by Scotland.

Furthermore, not only did he win the European Cup, but he did it as the first British player to accomplish so. He retired in 1975 after more than 800 matches for Celtic.

1. Jimmy Johnstone

Jimmy Johnstone (Credit: Twitter)

In a survey conducted in 2002, he was voted the club’s best player. And rightly so; his ability to get past the defenders was nothing short of incredible. The Lisbon Lions won the European Cup in 1967, and Johnstone was a member of that squad. The French press called him “The Flying Flea” because of his right-wing deception.

He was also named the third-best European Footballer of the Year based on his outstanding accomplishments that year. In 515 appearances throughout his 14 years with the club, he scored 129 goals. He’s also won four cups and nine league crowns.

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Surajit Das

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