Christopher Jullien

Interesting what he’s said about ange good to hear they do video analysis as that was non existent under Lennon


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Christopher Jullien has lifted the lid on his Celtic exit and admitted: 'Ange Postecoglou and I just didn't click'.

The French stopper became the second most expensive signing in the club's history when he completed a £7million move from Toulouse in the summer of 2019. Jullien made an instant impact at Parkhead, scoring memorable winners against Lazio and Rangers, and helped the Hoops to an unprecedented quadruple Treble.



But a nightmare knee injury sustained in the Covid-season which derailed Celtic's dreams of ten-in-a-row would ultimately curtail the defender's career in Glasgow. Neil Lennon, the man who brought him to Celtic Park, was soon axed and Postecoglou was eventually named as his successor




While the Aussie transformed the Hoops, his arrival ultimately had consequences for Jullien, who was still recovering from a year-long injury lay-off. The giant defender made just one sub appearance last season and returned to his homeland with Montpellier during the summer after growing frustrated at his lack of opportunities.

It was a rollercoaster three years for the 29-year-old, who couldn't break up the formidable defensive partnership of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt after making his long-awaited injury comeback.

He told the Daily Mail: "I came back from France and I could see the coach was trying to implement new ideas. But I couldn't take part. As he's said, he doesn't stop! He started on his way and never looked back


I had some conversations at the beginning about how he sees the game. It was fascinating. I can say he is one of the best trainers I have witnessed. But the man himself, we just didn't click




Sometimes my team-mates would say why not go and see him? And I'm like 'man, what do you want me to say? The team is winning every game three or four-zero, you're winning everything'.

"He was a really good coach but as a man we didn't have that link. I understand that management is difficult. It's not just 11 players and keeping everyone involved is hard because players can be impatient, emotional.

"I played just once. It was a cup game against a second division team and I felt I could have had more time but afterwards I said 'thanks coach'.




Before the season finished I went to see him, not to ask to play, but to see how he found me in training and my level. After we finished the meeting he said: 'If we are champions I will probably give you some minutes




It didn't happen. It felt like he'd told me something and done the contrary."

Jullien felt like an outsider as Postecoglou's side celebrated a famous title-winning season after a resounding 6-0 win against Motherwell on trophy day.

The one-time fans' favourite expected to be given a farewell cameo appearance but instead watched on from the stands as the champions ended the campaign in style.

A summer exit was inevitable and after a move to Schalke collapsed, Jullien eventually upped sticks and sealed a £1m switch to Montpellier. However, despite featuring in a handful of pre-season games, Jullien admits he didn't bother saying farewell to Postecoglou





He explained: "When summer came I had the feeling he was really distant about me. So when I moved I didn't say bye.

"I said goodbye to the people who helped me the most during my time at Celtic, Cal [Callum McGregor] was the first one I spoke to. Now I'm back playing in Ligue 1 and it feels good.

"I have no regrets about Celtic. The first year was unbelievable. The second year was a disaster! And the third year I was happy because I was back from injury.

"The surgeon gave me the green light in November, 11 months after the injury, so I knew I was fit but I never got the chance to show it.

"We played Motherwell on the final day when we were already champions. I thought I would have the last chance to play at Celtic Park in front of everyone






I remember after the game people were filming me during the celebrations and, looking at the footage, you would think this guy doesn't care.

"But the thing is I didn't participate in one minute of the championship. I did not run for this trophy, I never broke sweat for it. I wish I could have celebrated but inside my heart I just couldn't."

 

That’s an interesting and very fair interview, a like the big guy.

 

Meh fair enough, he went moaning to the press about not playing so can hardly complain about being frozen out/not being given minutes at the end of the season for the sake of it.

The truth is in his cameo appearance he looked crippled, could hardly move and was nowhere near fit enough to play. He probably would have got a run out at some point at the end of the season but he clearly burnt his bridges with Ange when he did that interview and was completely frozen out after.

 

Posting about us today.

I love his cup final goal and celebration. Cool as *.

 

Really wanted to like him and am grateful for his efforts but the poor me’s are ripping out of the guy.

 

In the who scored european team of the week

 

Big man involved in some late drama

 

Big diddybag.

 

I liked him during his first season with us but I've got a feeling he was one of the players causing a bit of drama during the covid season

 

Former Celtic defender Christopher Jullien speaks exclusively to The Celtic Way about his story at the club. From his arrival and enjoying incredible highs through to injury-impacted lows and his exit, the Frenchman had lots to say.




When harking back about football players, there are often dominant memories, actions or occasions that stick out in your mind when you recall their time at a club.

In the case of former Celtic defender Christopher Jullien, there may be as many as five or six, despite his limited amount of game-time in Scotland over his three-year spell at the club. Indeed, the imposing centre-back was front and centre of a busy time in Celtic’s modern history, both positively and negatively.

In his first English interview since leaving the club back in 2022, Jullien opens up to The Celtic Way about his time in Scotland, his current situation at Montpellier and if he still keeps up to date with Celtic nearly three years since his departure


The 'really special' Celtic sell
Glasgow is a sporting location that wants and expects success every season, particularly on the green side of it. Despite not being a ‘top 5’ league to ply your trade in, the expectancy to win is still present throughout the season, no matter the competition.

Coming off the back of a 16th place finish in Ligue 1 with Toulouse the previous season, then-26-year-old Jullien attracted interest from Celtic manager Neil Lennon, who flew out to Paris to personally meet with the centre-back – and to persuade him to make the move to the ‘Treble Treble’ winners in Scotland.


Winning trophies as a player, captain and manager, Brendan Rodgers’ mid-season replacement was the perfect man to entrust with selling Celtic to Jullien. The Montpellier defender fondly recalled his first meeting with the now-Dunfermline manager. “I remember when he came - he travelled to see me from a small, private airport!”, Jullien said.

“We had the time to come and have the meeting together. I remember that the meeting was really special. We had some private conversations, some good things to make me feel comfortable, and of course, some stuff about football. That made me feel comfortable, especially with his view of how he wanted to play and how he wanted me in the team. I thought it was a perfect match from that point.

“That is why I made the decision to join Celtic, and I still do not regret one per cent from that day – I do not regret anything.”


Jullien's derby baptism of fire
As is the case for any new players joining Celtic in the summer transfer window, the prospect of playing against Rangers in the Glasgow Derby is one that creeps up on individuals, given the way fixtures transpire in Scotland.

After signing for the club for £7.5 million – a club-record for a defender – Jullien made his debut away from home against Nomme Kalju in Estonia, before playing a fleeting role in the rest of Celtic’s ill-fated Champions League qualifying campaign that year.

Though he started – and scored – in Celtic’s Europa League second leg tie versus AIK in Sweden, his sixth appearance for the club (and just his third in the Premiership) three days later would be at Ibrox.

A cliched term, yes, but this was a baptism of fire for the former Toulouse centre-back, who was voted ‘Man of the Match’ by Sky Sports that Sunday afternoon. “(Ibrox) was just so shocking”, Jullien said.

“Seriously, I remember when I entered the field, my leg was shaking because of the atmosphere - you could feel how important this game was. I remember the game starting with a bit of pressure, but after that, it was just a football match.

“I can remember either the first or second contact, when Scott Brown went straight at a Rangers player, like smashing him, then he looked at me. I thought to myself, ‘Oh my *, this game is going to be a war!’.

“That was the big thing I remember, and from there, it was a big win for us. That was a great, great game, and I think that was the perfect time to put me in it. After the game, I was like ‘Okay, we’re in a different situation now – this is something else’.

“That was a very good day



European dreams are fulfilled
When you think of Jullien, what goal springs to mind? For many, his last-minute winner over Lazio in the Europa League will immediately spring to mind.

Then managed by current Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi, the Rome club were fancied by many as potential winners of the competition. Grouped alongside France’s Rennes and Cluj from Romania – who knocked Celtic out of the Champions League months earlier – Jullien’s side knew that they had to take points from the Serie A outfit if they aspired to a run in Europe.

Inzaghi’s side showcased their strength early doors, however, as versatile wide-man Manuel Lazzari scored after 30 minutes to put the Italians ahead on the night, before Ryan Christie got the hosts level midway through the second half.

Following a deflected shot from Brown that went behind for a corner, bedlam and hysteria would ensue at Celtic Park. Unmarked in the Lazio box, Jullien headed home an 89th-minute winner. In his own words, the defender summed up that moment as “indescribable”.

“There are so many feelings relating to that game. At Celtic Park, you realise how important nights of European football are – they are something else. To be 1-0 down after conceding a bad goal and coming back – with me scoring the winner, it was just like magic.

“I remember I had some family in the stands, and they came to me after and were like, ‘Bro, you have no idea what you made us live, that was something else!’ I can remember every moment of it.

“It’s a good thing as a footballer to give that kind of feeling. That’s why I think we play football.”

Reflecting on his trademark ‘Superman’ shirt rip celebration following the goal, the former Celtic number 2’s change of tone was a surefire giveaway of his pride at being the matchwinner that night. “Ah man, that was a magic one”, he said, without hesitation.

“If I can remember correctly, I think it was my first Celtic Park goal, because I had scored away (against AIK). This one was kind of special. I really wanted to do that celebration in Celtic Park in front of everyone, you know.

“That was a magic moment.



A hero at Hampden
There is a popular phrase, coined by legendary college football coach Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant, that circulates around American sports, which states, ‘Offense wins games, but defence wins championships.’

No stranger to American football or stateside sports, Jullien encompassed both sides of that famous quote, on what was perhaps his defining moment as a Celtic player, at the national stadium in December 2019.

Scoring the winning goal against Rangers in the League Cup final was just one side of what was an eventful day on the park for Lennon’s side, as they had to defend their lead for half an hour with 10 men, thanks to Jeremie Frimpong’s 63rd-minute dismissal. “I really felt like we did not play our best game”, Jullien admitted.

“That was my first final, and my teammates told me about how the fans in the stadium will be half green and half blue. That was the sort of stuff that they spoke about for the whole season. However, it was a really poor performance collectively. We did not play the football that we knew we could play.

“I remember at the end of the game, we said as a team that sometimes when you know that you are in a difficult time like that, but you still win, it means that the strength and chemistry that we had for the fight was really unbelievable. The grace touched Fraser Forster that day because, trust me, no goal would have gone in. It was not possible, and I thank him again for that game because he was unbelievable.

“Collectively, when we watched the game, we said ‘How did we win this game?’, because Rangers were better and had more chances. I think we already knew that we were good, but when we saw that game, we were like ‘nothing can happen to us now’."




Uncertain times
Currently in his third season back in France with struggling Montpellier, who sit at the bottom of Ligue 1, Jullien has failed to play a single minute for his club, due to an ACL injury sustained last year. With his contract set to expire in the next few months, the towering defender’s future is unclear.

This is not a new feeling for the Frenchman, especially after going through a tumultuous final two seasons at Celtic, beginning with the curtailing of the Scottish Premiership in May 2020, following a nationwide suspension in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was just so hard”, Jullien exclaimed.

“There are no words in which I can describe it, because when you work, you are professional, and we work a lot. The thing that drives a lot of players, which a lot of people found difficult to lose, was the dressing room. I talk with a lot of guys who have finished their career, and they say things like ‘When you wake up and you don’t go in the locker room, it's kind of like a second death.’, and that was the same feeling.

“I remember I had a good house in Glasgow, so I was comfortable with my kids, but oh my *, the situation of staying in a house, it’s just not life, you know? It's difficult. It was really, really, really difficult.

Jullien continued: “It was so difficult (being awarded the league title), because Neil Lennon told me on our first meeting that I was coming to win trophies for Celtic, and I would see what it is like to win. I had seen all of the pictures in and around the dressing room of the trophies, the parades in the city and the celebrations. I didn’t live that.

“I was still happy about winning because that was a result of how much work we put in for the whole season, but to not have the parade and to celebrate with the fans was hurtful. It did hurt me a little bit.

“My wife knows how frustrated I was in the house, as I did not have the chance to celebrate with my teammates and the supporters



The season that shall not be named
Though Celtic did end up completing the unprecedented ‘Quadruple Treble’ that Jullien was hoping to celebrate in style, they achieved it in unfortunate circumstances, against the backdrop of the club’s failed ’10 in a Row’ 2020/21 season.

Despite defeating both Aberdeen and Hearts at Hampden Park – albeit with no spectators present – to win the delayed 2019/20 Scottish Cup, Celtic’s domestic collapse that season sent shockwaves throughout the footballing landscape, as Rangers won the league by 25 points.

Even to this day, nearly five years on from the events of that campaign, Jullien is haunted by what transpired in his second season at Celtic. “It was just so bad.”, he said.

“I really think I could have lived the situation differently if I were at another club, but at Celtic, going from 60,000 fans to zero in an instant was really difficult. It was like our 12th man on the field was not there, which hurt us.

“At the end of the day, we did not perform and did not play the way we were supposed to. We did not win the games that we were supposed to, but it was so bad to play in.

“It was a really, really difficult season




Pain at the post
Perhaps a perfect embodiment of the trials and tribulations surrounding the 2020/21 season for Celtic was the way in which Jullien prematurely ended his own campaign, following a traumatic injury sustained at the turn of the year against Dundee United.

During the match at Celtic Park on December 30, Marc McNulty was through for the visitors and had slotted the ball through Vasilis Barkas’ body, which looked to be heading in the back of the net. Jullien did well to get back and clear the ball away from danger, though his knee collided with the post, with the defender needing to be stretchered off the park as a result. “That was something else, also, because I really had the feeling that we were starting to come back in the league.”, Jullien said.

“I was so devastated. It was a difficult situation. The doctor told me is an injury that never happens to football players, because it's a kind of injury that happens when you have an accident on the road with your leg, with the shock and everything. They said when the mix of the two ligaments is broken, it's the worst thing that can happen, along with the Achilles injury.

“It was just so difficult, you know, to come back after all of that. But I had the strength to come back mentally. I was happy to come back. But after all of that season, the changing of managers and everything that was, that was a bit difficult. It's a difficult situation, especially because you were trying to keep the ball out of the net.

He continued: “So many people ask me again, ‘Why did you jump on that ball?’ I'm like, ‘I get played and paid to keep my goal empty. I want clean sheets every week. That is my standard. I want that every week. And when I saw the ball, I didn't even think about it. If it happened again, I would probably do it again.

“But it happens. It's football, you know, and now it's behind me and it belongs now to my career. It's part of me. And like we say, you come back stronger.”


The comeback
A grand total of 409 days separated Dundee United and Raith Rovers, as Jullien returned to first-team action in his side’s Scottish Cup match against the Kirkcaldy club in a 4-0 home win. Celtic, now managed by Ange Postecoglou, saw the return of their most expensive defender after over a year on the sidelines.

A popular figure amongst the Celtic supporters prior to his horrific injury, his return evoked a standing ovation from those present in Glasgow that afternoon. “That was so big for me”, Jullien said.

“It was really hard to come back after an injury like this, and to have the support of all the fans meant the world to me, you know. I know that I belonged to them. This kind of standing ovation showed that they knew I would do everything for them, and they would do the same for me on my return.

“I was really proud and really happy about that.”



Departing Celtic during the Ange era
Unfortunately, at least in a competitive capacity, the aforementioned Raith cameo would be the final appearance that Jullien would make for Celtic, thanks, in part, due to the emergence of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt as Postecoglou’s preferred centre-back pairing.

Though many players would perhaps hold a grudge against a manager for restricting their game-time, especially a determined athlete like Jullien, the Frenchman insisted that he has nothing but praise for the current Tottenham Hotspur manager. “I wish I could have more time (at Celtic)”, said Jullien.

“The thing is, though, Celtic were playing unstoppable and unbelievable football when I was making my way back. Some people were saying to me that I should go and see the manager and talk to him, to know why I was not playing or what I could do to get on the team. I heard them, but I asked them ‘Did you see the team playing this weekend? What can I do? Why would the manager change a team that is winning?’

“They were crushing everyone, and it was crazy.”

On Postecoglou and Lennon, Jullien continued: “I think Neil (Lennon) was a bit closer to his players. Ange was a little less close to his player, but his way of playing, the way he coached, was really good. He made me learn some stuff, some crazy stuff about the position, everything about the pitch, how we wanted to play, how we want to attack and how we want to defend. I learned so much from Ange Postecoglou.

"But Lennon, after the first day we talked about things, He became kind of like a second father to me. They were just two different managers, and I really think that at the end of the day, both of them had some good stuff.

“That's why they were managers of Celtic, you know? They were two really good managers


Celtic in the brain
With a few weeks left to go of the season, Jullien is hoping for some much-needed game time, regardless of his uncertain future. Despite having departed Scotland nearly three years ago, the popular centre-back still harbours love for his former employers.

When asked if he still keeps up to date with Celtic, his response typified his persona – emphatic. “Yeah, definitely!” he remarked.

“I still watch some games when I can, because the time when they are playing on Sunday sometimes, I have training, so I'm kind of annoyed about this, But I'm really happy.

“I saw the way they did the Champions League this year. That was close (against Bayern Munich), yeah, they were really good. Oh my *, I was so annoyed! This game made me crazy, because I really thought they could have done it at the Allianz Arena.

“Of course, I can see that they're still up in the table, so in the league, they are good right now – I am really happy about this.

 

"“I can remember either the first or second contact, when Scott Brown went straight at a Rangers player, like smashing him, then he looked at me. I thought to myself, ‘Oh my *, this game is going to be a war!’.

What a great line.

Actually quite a good little read that, and comments from big CJ.

 

Liked him as a player and as a guy, even if his social media was a bit cringe at times.

 

I always liked him, thought he was great during his first season (Outside Livingston).

 

Always found him to be awful weak for the size of player he was. Should’ve been a total killer of a defender