-
News
- 3 hours ago
OFFICIAL: Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers resigns as owner launches scathing attack
Tom Weber
- Updated: 27 Oct 2025 22:44 GMT
- 6 min read
Breaking
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has resigned from his position, the club have announced.
The Northern Irishman has left his role as manager of the reigning Scottish champions after his resignation was accepted by the club. Rodgers decided to part ways with Celtic after a string of disappointing results in the Premiership.
On Sunday, Celtic suffered a chastening 3-1 defeat to table-topping Hearts, which left the Parkhead club eight points adrift of their Edinburgh counterparts. The Hoops have also failed to beat Rangers, Hibs and Dundee FC this season.
In Europe, Celtic crashed out of the Champions League in embarrassing fashion against Kairat Almaty and lost their opening game in the Europa League to Braga. However, they bounced back in midweek with a 2-1 win over Sturm Graz.
Rodgers' future had been the subject of speculation as his contract would have expired at the end of the season. Not long ago, transfer insider Fabrizio Romano claimed that Celtic's club chiefs were keen to renew his deal, while it was reported earlier today that he could be sacked.
Rodgers resigns from Celtic post
Now, Rodgers has put an end to the speculation by walking away from the job at Celtic Park. "Celtic Football Club can confirm that football manager Brendan Rodgers has today tendered his resignation," the club announced.
"It has been accepted by the Club and Brendan will leave his role with immediate effect. The Club appreciates Brendan’s contribution to Celtic during his two very successful periods at the Club.
"Brendan leaves Celtic with our thanks for the role he has played during a period of continued success for the Club and we wish him further success in the future.
"The process to appoint a new permanent manager is underway and the Club will update supporters further on this as soon as possible.
"We are pleased that during this interim period former Celtic manager Martin O’Neill and former Celtic player Shaun Maloney have agreed to take charge of Celtic first-team matters. Further details will be confirmed shortly."
Celtic owner slams Rodgers
Following the announcement of this news, Celtic published another statement by owner Dermot Desmond in which he pulled no punches regarding Rodgers' public conduct.
"Brendan Rodgers has today tendered his resignation as manager of Celtic Football Club," Desmond's statement began.
"I want to acknowledge Brendan’s contribution across his two spells as Manager, during which he helped deliver success that forms part of the club’s modern history. However, I must also express my deep disappointment at the way the past several months have unfolded.
"When we brought Brendan back to Celtic two years ago, it was done with complete trust and belief in his ability to lead the club into a new era of sustained success. Unfortunately, his conduct and communication in recent months have not reflected that trust.
"In June, both Michael Nicholson and I expressed to Brendan that we were keen to offer him a contract extension, to reaffirm the club’s full backing and long-term commitment to him.
"He said he would need to think about it and revert. Yet in subsequent press conferences, Brendan implied that the club had made no commitment to offer him a contract. That was simply untrue.
"We met with Brendan regularly, including in December last year and at the start of the summer, with regular dialogue in between, to discuss and agree our collective strategy, priorities, and approach.
"Every player signed and every player sold during his tenure was done so with Brendan’s full knowledge, approval, and endorsement. Any insinuation otherwise is absolutely false.
"His later public statements about transfers and club operations came entirely out of the blue. At no point prior to those remarks had he raised any such concerns with me, Michael, or any member of the Board or executive team.
"In reality, he was given final say over all football matters and was consistently backed in the recruitment process - including record investment in players he personally identified and approved.
"When his comments were made publicly, I sought to address them directly. Brendan and I met for over three hours at his home in Scotland to discuss the issue.
"Despite ample opportunity, he was unable to identify a single instance where the club had obstructed or failed to support him. The facts did not match his public narrative.
"Regrettably, his words and actions since then have been divisive, misleading, and self-serving. They have contributed to a toxic atmosphere around the club and fuelled hostility towards members of the executive team and the Board. Some of the abuse directed at them, and at their families, has been entirely unwarranted and unacceptable.
"Every member of the Board and executive team is deeply passionate about Celtic and acts at all times with professionalism, integrity, and a shared desire for success. What has failed recently was not due to our structure or model, but to one individual’s desire for self-preservation at the expense of others.
"Celtic’s structure - where the manager oversees football, the Chief Executive manages operations, and the Board provides oversight - has served the club with great success for more than two decades.
"We all share the same ambition: to ensure Celtic’s continued success domestically and to achieve further progress in Europe. Every pound generated by the club is reinvested towards those goals and the continuous improvement of Celtic Football Club.
"Celtic is greater than any one person. Our focus now is on restoring harmony, strengthening the squad, and continuing to build a club worthy of its values, traditions, and supporters."
Football transfer news headlines today
TRANSFER RUMOURS: Man Utd target Chelsea deal as Arsenal eye €100m striker
Man Utd fail with €57m bid for the Premier League's most IN-FORM player
Raphinha criticises Lamine Yamal after El Clasico: He gave Real Madrid extra motivation
Inside Vini Junior’s Clasico explosion – and why it could cost him at Real Madrid
The FootballTransfers app
Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.
The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:
