Callum McGregor

On March 15, 2015, Callum McGregor picked up his first senior medal as a Celtic player when the Hoops beat Dundee United 2-0 in that season’s League Cup final.

Little more than a mere nine years later, on May 25, 2024, he was back at the top of the Hampden steps picking up his 22nd winner’s medal – yes, that’s TWENTY-TWO in only nine years.

There are clubs, never mind players, around who would gladly settle for a small percentage of that tally.

These days, though, he’s also lifting the trophies as club captain, and the 1-0 win Scottish Cup win over Rangers on that day also maintained another personal record for the skipper. He’s never lost a final at Hampden – ever! – and his tally of 13 senior cup wins at the National Stadium was preceded by FOUR consecutive Scottish Youth Cup wins there, taking the tally to 17 finals in the past 14 years.

Far from shouting about it from the rooftops, though, McGregor, tends to keep the record close to his chest, and with good reason.

He said from the Hampden pitch after lifting the club’s 42nd Scottish Cup: “I don’t want anybody to jinx me, but then people talk about it and then you think, ‘Let’s make them wait a bit longer.’

'I’m delighted, you can only prepare so much, you get yourself mentally and physically ready, prepare the team, there there’s s a little it bit of luck comes into it as well.'

“I’m delighted to keep it going, and the more it grows arms and legs, the better you feel about it when you came back, and you arrive into these games full of confidence because you’ve got so much to look back on.”



Among those 22 medals, there are no fewer than FIVE Trebles, the only player in world football to hold that distinction, and, after winning the league and cup Double this term, the skipper is already looking ahead to medal No.23 and beyond.

He said: “Once we come back for pre-season, the remit will be to try and get three more.

“So that’s where we are, that’s what the club demands. It’s in the DNA of the club now and let’s see if we can go and get more next season.”

His quintuple Treble started when Brendan Rodgers first arrived at the club, and McGregor is delighted that the Irishman has returned to spark this season’s Double win.

The 31-year-old said: “In his previous time here we struck up a great connection, and there’s a good bit of trust there in terms of player-manager bond.

“It’s brilliant to see him back at the club. We knew we had a lot of hard work to do. We came off the back of a really successful season, and, at Celtic, the next season you have to be equally as successful, and it was great having that reunion.

'He’s a big manager, he’s a big personality and he loves the fight. You can see that when he’s backed into a corner, he comes out swinging and that’s the thing I love about him – his mentality and his drive to win.'

“And he’s instilled that in this group as well. There’s been a siege mentality at times and in sport that’s really powerful.”

 

Says exactly what you want to hear every time and knows the game inside out. He’s the only Celtic player i’ve ever looked at and thought he’s made to be a high level coach or manager one day.

 

It truly is remarkable what a job he has done as Celtic captain taking over from Scott Brown. We are very fortunate to have had such incredible captains back to back.

 

Celtic captain Callum McGregor has revealed that he put his career on the line to lead the club to the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup double last season.

McGregor risked a rupture as well as a potential nine months on the sidelines due to a troublesome Achilles injury sustained against Dundee in the 7-1 Premiership victory at Parkhead in February.

Miraculously McGregor shaved off seven weeks of recovery time to help Brendan Rodgers's men get over the line in their quest for silverware. McGregor was missing for a total of 38 days as he returned in April to spearhead the club's campaign for the title and Scottish Cup.

Whilst there was never a question of McGregor ever having to go under the surgeon's knife, he insists that it was a gamble worth taking even though it could have backfired spectacularly on him.

The 31-year-old admitted that despite his amazing powers of healing he was still taken aback at some of the negativity he had to contend with when he returned to the Celtic side for the climax of the domestic campaign

McGregor said: “I get asked the same question every year if I have had enough rest! "People get injured and then come back, it’s fine, that’s what happens. Just because you get an injury at 30, it doesn’t mean you are going to die


It was just an injury and it’s fine now. There was no question of surgery. It was a 12-week injury but you don’t have 12 weeks, you’ve got five – so let’s go. You grit your teeth, and that’s what happened.

"To take seven weeks off a 12-week injury, people should say 'well done', but there you go! That’s the job now. It’s 11 months of the year and you need to be on the month and giving your best.

“Sure, every player will be tired at some parts of the season, but you are a professional, you get your head down and work hard. You try to give your maximum. I’m no different.

"How do you take seven weeks off a 12-week injury? Just by pure determination and rest and recovery. You do everything you possibly can because the end goal is bigger than you. That’s what you have to give.

"For sure it could have backfired, but you have to take the risk. It was my decision. The professional physios inside the building have to give you both sides, ‘this is the worst-case scenario, this is the best-case scenario' and you might land somewhere in between.

"Ultimately it’s up to the player and if the player wants to make himself available then it’s up to him. The option for me was to sit and watch it unfold or get back inside and try to help as much as I could. I think the way the season finished, showed it was a good decision.

"The worst-case scenario was probably a rupture and that would have been nine months on the sidelines. It was a ten on the pain scale. It was sore all the way through, but you find a level where you can sort of manage it.


The good thing for me over the years is that my pain threshold is quite high with the broken face situation that was sore as well but I could deal with it, so I got back out on the pitch and tried to help the team.

"That’s just the way that I have been brought up and, like I said, it means more to that the team is successful than me having a sore face or a sore leg or whatever it is. If I can physically function I want to be out there."

However, at no point was McGregor advised by the club medics at Celtic to give the 2024 European Championships in Germany with Scotland a swerve.

He said: "Had I taken the 12 weeks to get back, the chances were I wasn’t going to the Euros anyway. I just wouldn’t have played for 12 weeks before. It was my decision after they gave me the best-case scenario followed by the worst-case scenario.

"I felt it was more important to try and help the team. The aim was to try and shave as much time as possible off the 12 weeks, knowing that we were running out of time."

McGregor made his Celtic comeback in the 3-3 draw against Rangers at Ibrox on April 7, and it was his mistake that led to the loss of Abdullah Sima's deflected strike that made it 2-2 on the day after Philippe Clement's men had come from 0-2 down


He confessed that he was in excruciating pain when he took to the field in Govan that day but did not indulge in any form of rituals to deal with it.

McGregor said: "I didn’t take any painkillers. It was just about resting as much as I could. With the Achilles, I had to keep resting as much as I could. Complete rest is not good for you either.

"So can you get into a cycle where you are always moving but keeping things switched on? If you switch it off for 12 weeks then you have no chance.’ "I’d trained one day in the previous five weeks before the 3-3 game at Ibrox…so, yes, it was sore.

"In every walk of life, there are people who don’t have that pain threshold. When you are a professional footballer and you want to play and you want to help your team then you do as much as you can."

McGregor's decision to return to the first team fold as soon as possible proved to be an inspiring one for both his club and his teammates. Japanese winger Daizen Maeda took a leaf out of McGregor's book when he returned from a seemingly impossible hamstring injury which threatened to curtail his campaign. Vindication and salvation for the captain came in the form of the Premiership and League Cup.

McGregor said: "When you are trying to build a winning culture that’s what you need. You need that type of sacrifice from the players as well.

"I did it, Daizen did it, and we finished with two trophies from the last three or four weeks of the season. So it was worth it and if you asked Daizen he would tell you the same. I would like to think we were a good influence on the rest of our teammates. I hope so. The finish to the season with the two trophies was enough for me to think I made the right decision. If you asked the lads maybe they appreciated it as well. It’s life that you don’t always get appreciation from everywhere but you learn to deal with that."

 

Unbelievable. What a guy. Can't coach that kind of mentality, we're blessed to have people like him at the club.

 

Was chatting to my brother about McGregor the other day.
It's just insane the amount of football he's played in the last 9-10 years.
Rarely injured. Plays 60+ games a year and just maintains it. Absolute legend and will be forever be etched as...hopefully this season...the most decorated celtic player ever

 

Good stuff, hopefully he takes some time out for himself during the international breaks

 

Celtic captain Callum McGregor has today announced his retirement from international football.

Callum has performed for his country for the past 16 years at all international youth levels since 2008, and across the last seven years has been an integral part of the Scotland team, achieving 63 international caps, scoring three goals and playing a pivotal role in helping the national team reach back-to-back European Championships.

Callum McGregor said: “I have made a decision which was very difficult, of course, but a decision which I feel is the right one at the right time.

“It was very important I spoke to Steve and I did that this week to make him aware of my intentions. As I said to Steve, I just felt the time is right for me to move on from international football.

“It has been a huge honour to achieve 63 caps for my country, as appearing just once would have been a dream come true, so to achieve 63 and be inducted into the Roll of Honour at 50 caps is something I could only have dreamed of as a young kid.

“Throughout my career I wanted to make myself available for Scotland at all times and whenever selected, give the absolute maximum possible to help the country and represent the supporters with passion and pride.

“International football has been a really important part of my career where I have learned so much and achieved some incredible highs, that famous night in Serbia being one of the very best, and I have been blessed to share these experiences with some great people.

“Playing for Scotland always meant so much to me and reaching two major tournaments will always be a source of real pride, and scoring at Hampden in the Euros in front of our fantastic supporters will always be a special highlight for me.

“Of course, like many others I wish we could have gone further in these competitions but, nonetheless, it has been a privilege to have played for my country on such a stage and to have represented my country for such a long period.

“I have worked with some excellent managers, team-mates and staff and I thank them all for their incredible efforts during the time we have had together.

“I would like to wish Steve, the current Scotland players and all the players who follow me nothing but success for the future.

“I also want to give special and sincere thanks to the Scotland fans who have supported me so brilliantly during my time. The level of passion and commitment which our fans bring is second to none and something which I will always remember.”

 

Good timing to do it, means he can actually get good breaks in the Internationals and hopefully prolong his career a little.

 

Good, he can focus where it matters now.

 

That's a massive loss to the national team, but probably quite good for Celtic given he plays so much

 

Great news

 

Good decision from him. Especially with the amount of club games he plays these days.