AMIDO BALDE turned out to be another spectacular waste of money for Celtic after he signed for £1.2million from Portuguese outfit Vitoria Guimaraes in June 2013.
The towering 22-year-old striker came highly recommended to Neil Lennon after making the breakthrough with his nation’s Under-21 squad the previous year.
However, blundering Balde netted a mere three goals in 20 dismal appearances before his contract was scrapped in the summer of 2015 with two years still to run.
PICK IT OUT…Amido Balde scores one of his three Celtic goals with a shot past Partick Thistle keeper Scott Fox at Firhill in October 2013.
The Hoops had loaned him to Belgian side Waasland-Beveren and Israel’s Hapoel Tel Aviv, but he failed to convince and the switches were not made permanent. After leaving Parkhead, the misfiring marksman went to French Second Division, but he featured only eight times before his deal was ripped up.
His travels took him to Africa where he hoped for better luck with Angolan minnows Sport Luanda Benfica. He joined in January 2016 and left seven months later.
Balde scored six goals in 14 games for Ho Chi Minh City in the Vietnamese League after joining in January 2020. His contract was terminated by mutual consent in August that year.
In the nine years since getting the boot from Parkhead, Balde has played for TWELVE teams, but is currently without a club.
He is still one of Celtic’s most baffling signings.
* TOMORROW: Don’t miss the adventures of another former Celt in CQN’s EXCLUSIVE series.
