Ex Celtic star remembered for historic Champions League moment dismisses notion of negative Parkhead spell
Braga star admits he only has good memories of his time at Celtic despite struggling for regular minutes
Braga defender Gustaf Lagerbielke is relishing his return to Celtic Park this evening as he dismissed notions that his time in Glasgow was a negative experience.
The Swedish centre-back joined the Hoops from Elfsborg back in 2023, but struggled to nail down a starting spot and made just 10 appearances for Brendan Rodgers’ side, all during the 2023/24 campaign.
The 25-year-old spent the entirety of last season on loan with FC Twente in the Dutch Eredivisie before tearing up his Hoops contract after being sold to the Portuguese outfit in July.
Best remembered for his stoppage-time goal against Feyenoord in December 2023 which a first home win in the Champions League for Celtic in a decade, Lagerbielke now makes a swift return to Scotland ahead of tonight’s Europa League clash.
“It feels very good, it’s nice to hear some Scottish dialect again,” Lagerbielke said on the eve of Thursday’s clash. “It was a good year I had here so it’s nice to be back.”
Lagerbielke outlines positives of ill-fated Celtic spell
When asked to reflect on his time at Parkhead and why the move didn’t work out as planned, Lagerbielke opted to focus on the positives rather than dwell on the past.
He stated: “I think if I summarise the two years, I would say that I learned a lot, both what it means to be part of a big club like Celtic and a lot of football stuff. Then also in life, moving to another country and meeting new people and all of that.
“Then why it didn’t work out? I would say it depends what you mean. During my season when I played we won two titles (the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup), I met some incredible people and I learned a lot. I would say it was successful.
“The Feyenoord night was a good one. It’s difficult to rank things in terms of your career but it was a very special night. Scoring and winning (in the Champions League) for the first time in a while. Also winning the titles. Those were the biggest highlights.”
Lagerbielke had moved on from Celtic just a days prior to his fellow Sweden international team-mate Benjamin Nygren joining the Scottish champions in the summer.
Discussing his fellow countryman, the defender admitted: “I think he’s a very good player. He’s shown it with the national team and he’s shown it so far with Celtic. He’s also a good friend of mine so I’m happy to see that he’s been playing well here.”
Lagerbielke loving life in Portugal after summer transfer
Lagerbielke managed to quickly establish himself as a regular starter for Braga, who currently seventh in the Primeira Liga, and has already accumulated more appearances for his new side than he managed at Celtic.
“I’m very happy here, so far in Braga everything has been very good,” he added. “Me and my girlfriend have settled in very well in life in Portugal. The club has welcomed me with open arms and the staff and the other players have been very nice. I have absolutely no complaints.”