RONNY DEILA thought so highly of Nadir Ciftci that he bestowed the No.7 shirt, made famous by club legends such as Jimmy Johnstone and Henrik Larsson, on nis new £1.5million signing from Dundee United in the summer of 2015.
Brendan Rodgers thought so little of the striker he gave him the boot after just FOUR substitute appearances.
The Turkish frontman was hardly inspired by the iconic jersey and contributed a mere four goals in 26 outings for the Hoops.
His career in the east end of Glasgow kicked off under a cloud when he was banned for six games after being found guilty of BITING Dundee’s Jim McAllister while playing for United in the city derby at Tannadice on the final day of the previous season before the deal was struck.
RARE CELEBRATION…flop frontman Nadir Ciftci races away in joy after scoring against Dundee at Parkhead, one of his four goals for Celtic.
Ciftci struggled to make an impact from day one and hit the headlines again for all the wrong reasons following a training ground bust-up with team-mate Emilio Izaguirre.
Rodgers replaced Deila in May 2016 and it was the beginning of the end for the misfit marksman following four substitute appearances.
His agent, former Celtic fans’ favourite Pierre van Hooijdonk, arranged loan deals for the misfiring hitman at Plymouth Argyle, Eskisehirspor, Pogon Szczecin and Motherwell before he eventually left Parkhead on a free in 2018.
Ciftci returned to Scotland with St Johnstone in January 2022 after being released by Turkish club MKE Ankaragucu.
He failed to score in 11 appearances and was allowed to leave at the end of his temporary terms.
Ciftci, now 34, was released by Turkish lower league outfit Inegslspor after joining in a £125,000 switch from Karaman FK in February 2024 and joined German minnows FC Huttenheim in September 2025.
His contract was not renewed and he announced his retirement from playing last month.
* TOMORROW: Don’t miss the adventures of another former Celt in CQN’s EXCLUSIVE series.
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