HANDS OFF
Fraser Forster reveals the one piece of rare Celtic memorabilia he will never sell – even if someone offered £50,000
He said he still takes an interest in the Hoops to this day
FRASER FORSTER won it all whilst at Celtic.
Four Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups and a League Cup, not to mention several individual awards including Players' Player of the Year.
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But none of those medals compare to a unique piece of Celtic memorabilia that he will forever treasure.
It's from a time now entrenched in Hoops folklore and the 36-year-old goalkeeper, currently No.2 to Guglielmo Vicario at Tottenham Hotspur, values it so much that he simply can't put a price on its worth.
Forster had two spells at Parkhead, the first was over a period of four years in which he had back-to-back loan stints before joining on a permanent deal from Newcastle for £2m. He left for Southampton in 2014 for £01m and returned to Celtic Park on another loan in 2019.
During that first spell he earned the nickname La Gran Muralla (The Great Wall) thanks to his heroics in the Champions League against Barcelona in 2012.
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The Hoops narrowly lost at the Nou Camp but in Glasgow the big Englishman was immense, repelling the Spanish armada after wave after wave of attack.
His exploits at one end allowed for Victor Wanyama and Tony Watt to write themselves into the history books at the other end, as Celtic recorded a famous 2-1 win over the all-conquering Catalans.
Lionel Messi would later go on to say of Forster that night: "There was one game in Scotland when he was not human, it was the best goalkeeping performance I have seen."
And after the game, Forster made sure it was he who ended up with the Argentine maestro's shirt.
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Forster still has Messi's number 10 jersey to this day (he scored the goal that made it 2-1) and he revealed on Fozcast with former Manchester United, Stoke City and West Brom 'keeper Ben Foster that he will NEVER sell it.
Foster through figures of £20,000 and £50,000 at him but just like that night at Parkhead, Forster batted them away.
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He said: "I've never played in an atmosphere better than an Old Firm derby.
"Old Firm derbies and European nights at Celtic Park, there's not been anything close to them.
"I get embarrassed talking about the Barcelona game...
"I got Messi's shirt from that game we won."
To which Foster responded: "We had Gabby Agbonlahor on this podcast a couple of weeks ago and remember when Thierry Henry came back to Arsenal and he played against Aston Villa?
"Gabby went up and got his shirt and it was a different number (from his first spell) and it's a super rare shirt.
"I asked him how much he thinks it's worth and he just said 'I wouldn't sell it. I just wouldn't. It's not a thing.'
"So Fraser, genuinely, if someone offered you 20 grand for this Leo Messi shirt, would you sell it?"
Forster laughed and replied: "Nah."
"50 grand?!" asked Foster. "Genuinely, somebody, Celtic fans and fans all over the world would pay outrageous amounts of money for a worn Lionel Messi shirt?"
"No," said Forster again. "I've never even thought about it."
Forster also said that Celtic's results are still the first that he looks for on a weekend to see how they got on.
He said: "I go straight on and look for them to this day.
"I was fortunate I got to go there so early in my career.
"I loved it. Such a special club and it means the world to the fans.
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"The competition with Rangers, being in Glasgow, it's amazing. Until you go and become part of it and see what it means to people, people down south probably don't appreciate it.
"I'm so privileged and honoured to have played for that club."
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