I played just 2 games for Celtic but left feeling 'deep injustice' - even if Neil Lennon says I'm talking rubbish
Olivier Kapo ticked all the boxes for Celtic. A former Juventus and France midfielder, the 30-year-old represented a no-risk transfer after arriving on a free in November 2010.
Capped nine times by his country, the ex-Monaco and Birmingham City winger joined with an impressive pedigree. On paper, it looked like Neil Lennon had pulled off a major coup by handing Kapo the chance to revive his career, having been without a club since leaving Wigan Athletic. But in the end, the signing proved more hassle than it was worth after a messy couple of months in Glasgow.
Allocated the number 77 jersey, Kapo snubbed interest from the Bundesliga to pen an 18-month contract with the Hoops. Crucially, though, Celts had an option to terminate his contract in January 2011, if Kapo failed to prove his worth. After making just two appearances over the course of an injury-hit two months, it came as no surprise when the Parkhead club announced they had cut ties with the journeyman Frenchman in January 2011.
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With a grand total of 51 minutes of football under his belt, you'd have thought that Kapo would've accepted his fate and quietly left through the backdoor. But the Ivory Coast-born star had other ideas after accusing Hoops chiefs of breaking a financial agreement with him and claiming that Lennon didn't have the final say on transfers.
In a bitter statement, he let rip: "I still do not understand this sudden change of situation. I feel a deep injustice, even though the coaching staff wanted me to stay. Despite the insistence of Neil Lennon, I did not want to stay longer in a situation where a young coach, who was an experienced player, is not able to impose his choices on the financial management."
But Kapo's grievances were immediately shot down by Lennon, who made it clear that the one-time Champions League player didn't do enough to earn a long-term deal. The Northern Irishman hit back: "It’s rubbish, absolute nonsense. We couldn’t give him a contract on 30 minutes of football, not on the money he was after but we were quite prepared to extend his agreement to the end of the season until he proved his fitness.
"There is no doubting his talent – but he didn’t do enough to warrant what he wanted. I couldn’t go to the board and say I want this guy to have a one-year, two-year, 18-month contract, based on 30 minutes of football. I’d have everybody knocking on the door if that was the case."
Just as it seemed like Kapo's days of starring at the elite level were petering out, he made a shock return to his first club Auxerre after a brief stint in Qatar. Kapo then landed a switch to Superleague Greece club Levadiakos before calling time on his colourful career with Polish Ekstraklasa side Korona Kielce. A player who may well have thrived in his prime at Celtic Park, it's fair to say Kapo will go down as one of the club's more forgettable signings.
