‘Refused The Pay Cut’ – President Admits Former Celtic Star Will Leave | OneFootball

Paolo Bruno/Getty Images

Former Celtic star Olivier Ntcham has refused to take a pay cut at Turkish side Samsunspor, with club president Yuksel Yildirim admitting the Frenchman will leave this summer as a result.

The Cameroon international rose to prominence at Celtic, where he picked up three Scottish Premierships, two Scottish Cups and three Scottish League Cups as part of a dominant side.

The 30-year-old midfielder headed to Turkey to sign for Samsunspor in 2023, following a stint at Swansea City.

Ntcham has seen hamstring niggles interrupt his campaign, but has still managed to feature regularly for Samsunspor in the Turkish Super Lig.

The former Celtic midfielder sees his contract at Samsunspor expire in the summer, but the club have been keen to keep him.

At the age of 30 though, the Turkish side have been unwilling to pay Ntcham the same amount they splashed when they signed him three years ago.

Samsunspor president Yildirim revealed Ntcham will leave the club because he is unwilling to take a cut to his salary on a new contract.

Yildirim was quoted as saying by Turkish journalist Salim Manav: “We couldn’t reach an agreement with Olivier Ntcham.

“After he also refused the salary cut, we decided to part ways.

“In place of Ntcham, we will be adding 21-year-old Sekongo, who plays for the French team Dunkerque, to our squad.”

Ntcham as a free agent could be an attractive proposition for a number of clubs, but it remains to be seen if he might be on the radar at Celtic.

Before Swansea signed him from Celtic, then Swans boss Russell Martin spoke to a number of players at Parkhead about Ntcham.