“The most underwhelming signing ever,” Charlie Mulgrew

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The Celtic Star

·7 April 2026

“The most underwhelming signing ever,” Charlie Mulgrew

Charlie Mulgrew has revealed that his return to Celtic under Neil Lennon was deliberately kept under wraps, as the club felt his signing was “underwhelming”…

07.11.2012 Glasgow, Scotland. Charlie Mulgrew and Marc Bartra in action during the Champions League game between Celtic and Barcelona from Celtic Park.

The former Scotland international had previously been released by Celtic as a youngster before rebuilding his career through spells at Wolves, a loan stint with Southend United and a standout period at Aberdeen.

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It was his performances at Pittodrie that caught the attention of then-manager Neil Lennon, who moved to re-sign Mulgrew on a free transfer four years after his departure from Celtic.

Despite being Lennon’s first addition during that period, Mulgrew has explained that the club chose to delay announcing the deal for several weeks, opting instead to confirm his arrival only after the higher-profile signing of Joe Ledley had been completed.

16.03.2013 Glasgow, Scotland. Charlie Mulgrew’s shot is deflected in during the Scottish Premier League game between Celtic and Aberdeen from Celtic Park.

Speaking on his Pitch to Par YouTube channel, Mulgrew said: “When I signed for Celtic, I was the first signing under Neil Lennon but they didn’t want to announce me first because it was like an underwhelming signing.

“So they announced Joe (Ledley). I’d signed a month or so before Joe. They announced Joe and fans were buzzing and I got snuck in the back door at Celtic Park.”

Joe Ledley scores the only goal of the Celtic v Rangers match at Celtic Park on 28 December 2011. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Ledley confirmed the story by saying: “I couldn’t sign because I saw my contract out so it was July 1 [that I signed]. Lenny told me you were signed two weeks before but they didn’t want to announce it.”

Charlie Mulgrew of Celtic FC (2ndL) looks on during the UEFA Champions League Group G match between FC Barcelona and Celtic FC at the Camp Nou Stadium on October 23, 2012 in Barcelona, Spain. FC Barcelona won 2-1. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Mulgrew has stated that he held no frustration over the delayed announcement, acknowledging that he understood the club’s reasoning behind managing the situation in that manner.

The former Hoops defender added: “I would have been the most underwhelming signing ever, though. I understand it.”

“Sol Campbell, Jimmy Bullard, yourself and other big names were linked, so if they announced me then the fans wouldn’t have been having that.”

Conor Spence

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