Brendan Rodgers’ blockbuster Celtic return will infuriate Desmond & Co
· Yahoo Sports
Former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is heading back to Glasgow next summer — and his return promises to reopen one of the most explosive chapters in the club’s recent history.
The Irishman will appear at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on 14 June 2027 for An Audience with Brendan Rodgers, hosted by A Celtic State of Mind.
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Tickets go on sale on 2 October, with the event billed as a celebration of Rodgers’ considerable Celtic legacy.
Yet the timing and circumstances surrounding his return ensure this will be about considerably more than trophies.
Rodgers left Celtic last October following the dramatic collapse of his relationship with the club’s hierarchy. Since then, supporters have heard plenty about the circumstances surrounding his departure.
They have heard remarkably little from Rodgers himself.
That could change in Glasgow next June.
Dermot Desmond, Michael Nicholson and the rest of the Celtic hierarchy are unlikely to relish the prospect of Rodgers discussing, in front of a Celtic audience, exactly what happened during the final months of his second spell.
Rodgers’ record at Celtic requires little embellishment. Across two spells he won 11 major trophies, including an Invincible Treble, and restored Celtic to the Champions League knockout stages before Bayern Munich ended their European run with a late goal.
He remains one of the most successful Celtic managers of the modern era.
Queen s Park v Celtic – Pre-Season Friendly – The City Stadium Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers ahead of the pre-season friendly match at The City Stadium, Glasgow. Picture date: Wednesday July 10, 2024. Use subject to restrictions. Editorial use only, no commercial use without prior consent from rights holder. PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUKxIRL Copyright: xAndrewxMilliganx 76810649
But Rodgers’ relationship with Celtic has never been defined solely by silverware.
His departure for Leicester City in February 2019, with Celtic pursuing an unprecedented Treble Treble, caused enormous anger among sections of the support.
Yet there had also been growing tension behind the scenes, particularly surrounding recruitment and the club’s willingness to match Rodgers’ ambitions in the transfer market.
When Rodgers made his remarkable return in 2023, much of the damage was gradually repaired. Success inevitably helped.
His second spell, however, ultimately exposed many of the same underlying tensions.
Rodgers became increasingly willing to challenge Celtic’s recruitment operation and the direction being taken above him. Eventually, the relationship fractured completely.
What followed made an already extraordinary situation even more remarkable.
Desmond issued a blistering public statement following Rodgers’ departure, placing the breakdown between manager and hierarchy firmly into the public domain.
Rodgers declined to engage in a public war of words.
His silence was striking.
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers arrives prior to the SPL | Premier League match between Celtic FC and Heart of Midlothian FC at Celtic Park on September 14, 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
More recently, interim chairman Brian Wilson has again addressed the instability surrounding Rodgers’ final season, ensuring the circumstances of his departure remain part of the conversation around Celtic.
Next June, Rodgers gets the microphone.
Supporters will inevitably want answers.
What really happened behind the scenes? How badly had his relationship with Celtic’s hierarchy deteriorated? What were the fundamental disagreements over recruitment and the direction of the club? And, with the benefit of distance, how does Rodgers now view the manner in which his Celtic career ended?
There are more than eight months until Rodgers walks onto the stage at the Royal Concert Hall.
The fascination, however, has already begun.
Celtic supporters have heard plenty about Brendan Rodgers since his departure.
Next summer, they may finally hear his side of the story.
Tickets are on sale at 10am and are available from Glasgow Life.