Fabrizio Romano makes confident Celtic transfer claim as ‘aggressive’ 15.5m player wanted

Fabrizio Romano makes confident Celtic transfer claim as ‘aggressive’ 15.5m player wanted

Rangers star Nacho Novo has revealed the true reason for his decision to turn down Celtic.

After scoring 22 goals for Dundee in the summer of 2004, the small Spaniard became embroiled in an Old Firm transfer war.

Novo was famously photographed entering Celtic Park’s front door after being granted permission to meet with Martin O’Neill.

But the striker made a spectacular U-turn and chose to relocate to the other side of the city,

almost quickly becoming a hate figure among the Hoops fans.

The rest, as they say, is history, as Novo went on to become a fan favorite at Ibrox,

winning six titles and scoring 65 goals in six seasons.Looking back on the transfer controversy,

the 44-year-old believes choosing Rangers over Celtic was the best decision of his career.

And Novo admitted that the fact that he already had close pals in the Ibrox locker room played a significant role in Alex McLeish winning the battle for his signature.

He said on the Anything Goes with James English podcast, “They [Celtic and Rangers] were calling from both sides.

” But I used to frequent Glasgow restaurants for dinner.

I met Mikel Arteta, Shota Arveladze, and Zurab Khizanishvili, with whom I used to play in Dundee.

“Claudio Caniggia and Gavin Rae both performed there. I used to go for a quick bite to eat before returning home to Dundee.

To be truthful, I thought Rangers was the superior club with the best players. That is what I thought about it.”

Novo had an amazing rookie season, scoring the goal that caused the chopper to shift direction on that famous May day in 2005.

He left Govan for Sporting de Gijon in 2010, but he has never felt such a strong affinity to any other team.

He stated, “It seemed like a family. Everyone knows everybody.

I used to go to Ibrox and see folks like the doorman, the girls who cared for the spouses,

and the ones in the Cooper Suite. You would know everyone who worked at the club.

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