Boyata suffers Celtic reunion heartbreak as Hoops star gambles it all for the Champions League - Parkhead news bulletin
Dedryck Boyata looks on his way OUT of Club Brugge after his hopes of an emotional reunion with Celtic were cruelly dashed.
The 33-year-old was a key player of Brendan Rodgers' first spell and made 135 appearances for the Hoops between 2015 and 2019. Recent seasons haven't quite gone to plan however as he's struggled for football since swapping Hertha Berlin for Club Brugge. He's yet to play a single minute this season, and hasn't been named in their European squad for 2024/25.
The next squad registration window isn't until after the league phase and that means he won't be able to feature at Parkhead on November 27. Belgian outlet Gazet van Antwerpen note that his recent absences can be taken as a sign he's on his way out with Boyata's contract set to expire in 2025. And watching his teammates make the trip to his former hunting ground without him could be one of the final straws, if he is still around and frozen out in eight weeks' time.
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Elsewhere, women's star Murphy Agnew made it to Harvard – but she insists taking Celtic into the group stages of the Champions League would be a bigger accomplishment. The American forward, an environmental engineering major, netted the only goal as the Hoops beat Vorskla Poltava in Sunday’s first leg – to put one foot in the last 16 ahead of tomorrow’s return.
Agnew excelled both in the classroom and on the field, playing for Harvard Crimson, but after earning her degree she made the tough call to focus entirely on becoming a professional footballer And the 25-year-old believes that getting to the Champions League group stage would justify the gutsy decision.
Asked whether making it to Harvard or to Europe’s top table was bigger, the Pennsylvania native said: “I think Champions League group stage! It would just be incredible for this club. I studied environmental engineering, but I haven’t kept up with any of that because I made a decision to concentrate on football with the mindset that I’ll have a lot of years left to work in that field after my body can no longer play football.
“At the end of senior year a lot of my classmates were locked in with jobs but I knew I wanted to go full-time into football and try and make my career here. It was definitely a conscious choice to try and pursue the dream.
“I grew up watching Liverpool and remember stories of Istanbul. That was my Champions League ‘wow’ factor. I love the tournament. Playing in the group stages is a goal that I’d so love to achieve.”