Celtic confirm Carl Starfelt exit as Swedish stopper seals move to Spain with Celta Vigo
CELTIC have confirmed that Carl Starfelt has departed the club after two years in Glasgow.
The Swede was one of Ange Postecoglou's first signings during the summer of 2021.
But now he has sealed a switch to Spanish side Celta Vigo for around £5million.
SunSport revealed that a move was edging closer and it was all but 'confirmed' by Starfelt's dentist at the start of the week.
Celta announced him on their social media account - and now the Hoops have said in a statement: "After two full seasons with Celtic, Carl Starfelt has left the club to join La Liga side RC Celta.
"The Swedish central defender joined the Hoops in July 2021 from Rubin Kazan and played 87 times for the Hoops, scoring three times.
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"He leaves having won five domestic honours during his time at Paradise, including last season's historic Treble.
"Everyone at Celtic wishes Carl Starfelt every success in his future career."
His time at Celtic was met with mixed opinions, particularly at the start of his time there.
But he formed a formidable partnership with Carter-Vickers at the heart of the Hoops defence.
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So much so that the pairing had the best defensive record in the Premiership last season AND the season before.
It has been suggested that a move away is to accommodate Starfelt's personal life after it was revealed he was in a relationship with ex-Celtic Women's player Jacynta.
He started the game against Ross County on the bench but was introduced in the second half to bid farewell to the supporters.
Speaking after the game, manager Brendan Rodgers said: "I wanted to put Carl Starfelt on, it might be his last appearance here.
“There has been interest for him and he wants to take up that possibility.
“We will resolve that as quick as we can. I thought it would be nice for him to get maybe a final appearance at Celtic Park.
“Clearly he probably felt it was the time to move on.
“I have to say, he has been really respectful and has loved his time here.
“There are obviously certain conditions he has thought about in going to the one of the top leagues.
“Economically, it is hard to compete on that side and obviously his partner is no longer here anymore and has moved on.
“So there are a number of reasons why he would like to move on."
Rodgers has already signed Maik Nawrocki but confirmed after the Premiership opener that he would be signing another as Starfelt leaves the club.
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He added: “Yes, we’d need to get another centre half.
“The whole ideal was to have four that could be competitive, and if Carl was to go, we would bring in another one.”
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