€5m Celtic star makes bold transfer admission

15 Oct 2026 11:50 BST
2 min read

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Celtic winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha has taken aim at the club after they rejected a loan offer from an unnamed MLS side earlier this year.

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The 25-year-old joined Celtic from Royal Antwerp for a fee of €5.2 million last summer, but he failed to score in 14 appearances during his debut season at the club and he was sent on loan to Gent in late August.

Balikwisha scored his first goal in over a year against Zulte Waregem this weekend and he took aim at the Celtic hierarchy for their decision to block a move earlier this year during a post-match interview with local reporters.

“I played in the African Cup of Nations with Congo and when I returned, Wilfried Nancy was gone and Celtic were playing a catch-up race in the league,” the DR Congo winger told the Belgian press (via Celtic Way).

“Martin O’Neill didn’t want me in his squad anymore. It was as if I was paying the price for being away. But I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t playing.

“A three-month loan deal from the MLS was offered, but ultimately Celtic refused the loan. That was when I knew immediately the World Cup was gone for me.

“That hurt because I had contributed to Congo’s qualification. But life doesn’t stop and I hope there will be more World Cups for me.

“My girlfriend and daughters were having a hard time in Glasgow too. If they are unhappy, so am I.”

© IMAGO – Michel-Ange Balikwisha (left) struggled during his first season at Celtic

‘Gent can sell me for £20m’ – Balikwisha

While Balikwisha struggled during his first season at Celtic, he believes he could be worth as much as €23.6m (£20m) if he performs well at Gent this term.

“If I perform well here, everyone wins,” he added. “Myself, the manager Rik De Mil, who brought me back to the top and then Gent, who can make money off me. I think that is the goal as well.

“If Gent exercises the option, they can immediately resell me for £15-20 million. Everyone would be happy. We are commodities and I have no problem accepting that, as long as our work is rewarded.

“But money isn’t the thing that I look at when I decide to sign somewhere – it’s whether I can play there. That was my goal when I played as a kid on a Saturday morning and still is now.”

Balikwisha was one of four players to leave Celtic on loan this summer, alongside Paulo Bernardo, Shin Yamada and Adam Montgomery, while the Scottish giants sanctioned the permanent sales of Arne Engels, Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Luis Palma, Johnny Kenny, Maik Nawrocki, Hayato Inamura and Josh Clarke.