Callum McGregor on his unseen Jack Grealish relationship as Celtic skipper lifts lid on joining 500 club
Callum McGregor didn’t know if even he’d get to make one appearance for Celtic when he was shacked up with Man City superstar Jack Grealish all those years ago at Notts County.
Now he finds it difficult to get his head around the fact he’s clocked up 500. The Hoops skipper hit the milestone in Sunday’s 3-1 victory at Motherwell and it gave a man who is constantly staring forward the rare chance to have a look back. It’s been some journey – and McGregor doesn’t regret a second of it. There have been times the playmaker could have left. There would have been a queue a mile long for his services and some even came close – like when boss Brendan Rodgers tried to take him to Leicester City.
But McGregor has always felt right at home at Celtic Park and when he saw the emotional outpouring from Jota when he scored on his return at the weekend, it only cemented his own feeling about going the distance. The 31-year-old and Grealish went different paths – but McGregor’s sent him on the road to Celtic legend status.
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McGregor said: “We did stay in touch for a spell, actually, but he's too busy now! We’re both busy, I saw him when we were on tour in America in the summer and it was good to see him there and catch up with him briefly. We loved our time there. It was brilliant as they gave us the license to go and play, and we really enjoyed it.
“I think in my mind I was going there to try and sort of force my way in as such. I know that maybe back in the day going out on loan wasn't the done thing to do. It wasn't a case of I was not going to make it here so I had to go and find somewhere else, but it didn't dawn on me, I just thought I want to go here, I want to show people that I can play man's football.
“I always had that in the back of my head even though I was there for a year that I wanted to come back and I wanted to play for Celtic. I guess that was just my mindset of the whole thing, I just wanted to go and play and prove to people that I could play at that level.”
McGregor is now one of just 14 players to hit the half century of appearances for the Hoops with 23 major honours already, there’s a decent chance he can go on to become the most decorated Celt in history. The captain doesn’t take it for granted.
He said: “It's a big honour (reaching 500 games). I understand how big this football club is. I think when you speak to a lot of players when they leave Celtic, they regret it. They realise how big the club is and the thing for me is, I grew up just five or six minutes away from the stadium, so I felt it my whole childhood.
“I knew how big the club was, and when I walked through the door at eight my only thought was to try and make it to play in the first team. My family just dedicated their whole life to make sure that I had the best chance possible to play for Celtic, which is insane.
“When I think back now there's so much that has gone into it. It was just that it was the be-all-and-end-all. Playing in the first team and having a career at Celtic, and I'm so, so lucky that I've managed to do that.
“I just feel as if it's flown by. You lift your head and 500 games later, you're sitting here. I love playing for this club and I love the demand of it, so it's been really good and I've enjoyed every minute of it.”
Sunday was a big day for McGregor but he just knew Jota would steal the show. He said: “Absolutely! You couldn't even write it. It is amazing for him to come back in straight away and get that feeling of hitting the back of the net.
“The supporters love him and quite rightly so. He's a top player, so it's brilliant just to see him slide back in because you know what these things are like when sometimes you come back and you maybe don't hit the ground running, it can get quite sticky, so it's brilliant. He got his goal, came on and made an impact in the game, and let's hope he just continues it.
“He got it, straight away. He has settled back in right away and it is as if he left a week ago. That shows you that he's got a good connection with the club. He walked straight back in the door and everybody welcomed him back in and I think he felt at ease straight away as well.
“That's the one thing he said was 'Cal, I didn't realise how good this club was'. Not to say that he didn't, I mean, in that sense, he was just buzzing to be back because of the demand.
“He felt alive again straight away and then you see that today when he came on. He's playing on the edge straight away and he gets his goal, so the one thing about playing here is it keeps you super sharp.”
