Former Celtic striker Georgios Samaras took a hefty pay-cut of £10,000 per week in order to join the Hoops on a permanent basis, according to his ex-manager Gordon Strachan.
Capped 81 times by Greece throughout his career, Samaras joined Celtic on-loan in January of 2008, and despite a rocky start to life in Glasgow went on to cement himself as one of the club’s true fan favourites.
And supporters will probably like him even more when they hear just how much he was prepared to sacrifice in order to turn that loan into a permanent transfer.
Speaking as a pundit on talkSPORT last night, ex-Celtic boss Strachan explained: “I’ll tell you about a player going to a big club. Remember Samaras?
“He joined us because he wanted to play for Celtic.
“He was getting £25,000-a-week at Man City, still got four years to go… he joined us for £15,000-a-week, taking a dip in wages just to play for Celtic.”
After moving to Parkhead on a long-term deal later that year, Samaras went on to score 48 league goals in 156 Premiership appearances – several of which were crucial strikes against bitter rivals Rangers – and won four Premier League titles and two Scottish Cups before departing as a free transfer in 2014.
Do you think this kind of selflessness and self-sacrificing attitude has now disappeared from football in the eleven years since Samaras joined Celtic?
And will Strachan’s anecdote only make the long-haired forward more popular amongst the Bhoys fan-base?
Let us know in the comments section below…
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