'I couldn't really defend' - Why Celtic cult hero snubbed West Ham and Fulham transfer interest in favour of Parkhead move
The 94-capped Swedish international won 16 major honours during his seven-year spell at Celtic Park
Celtic cult hero Mikael Lustig has revealed the reason he turned down transfer interest from West Ham and Fulham in favour of a move to Parkhead was down to concerns over his ability to defend well enough.
The Swedish defender became a fan favourite during his seven-year spell with the Hoops after signing from Norwegian outfit Rosenborg in 2012. At the time, Lustig was also subject to interest from the two London clubs.
And in a recent interview in his homeland, the 38-year-old has spoken out on his decision to opt against a move to England by revealing he ended up at the Scottish champions because he “couldn’t defend”.
Lustig also admitted he felt playing for either of the two clubs, who had won promotion from the EFL Championship and would have been likely to have been fighting relegation the following season, wouldn't have suited his attack-minded style play.
Speaking to Swedish podcast Lundh, he said: “I had the chance to go to West Ham and Fulham when I was at Rosenborg. But they were two teams that were in the Championship one year, then the Premier League one year and fought at the bottom.
“At that time I really couldn’t defend. I couldn’t go there and just defend; then I would be completely depressed. When I chose, it was really that I needed to go to a team that fought at the top and won a lot of games, because that was the offensive game I had.”
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Lustig won multiple domestic trophies during his time in Glasgow’s east end. He admitted he didn't quite realise the scale of the club until he started seeing a vast number of fans across the world.
He added: “It’s such an incredibly big club. When you’re there and especially when you go abroad, it doesn’t matter if it’s in the USA or Spain, there are always Irish pubs where you see people in Celtic shirts.
“Then you realise that it’s not just in Glasgow that people talk about Celtic. The club is very big.”