The Hoops had a nightmare with the goalkeeper whose contract was terminated.
Following Joe Hart’s announcement that he will be retiring at the end of the season, Celtic will be searching for a new custodian during the summer transfer window.
The 36-year-old custodian has been a fantastic asset to the team since joining Ange Postecoglou on a permanent basis from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2021.
Hart started 72 of the club’s 76 Scottish Premiership matches between the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns as the Hoops won the title in Vasilis Barkas, the massive flop the former England international replaced at Parkhead less than three years ago, was Celtic’s biggest disappointment.
both seasons.
How much Celtic paid to sign Vasilis Barkas
In the summer of 2020, former Hoops manager Neil Lennon swooped to sign the shot-stopper from Greek side AEK Athens for a reported fee of £4.5m, along with £1m-per-year in wages.
The move did not go to plan for any of the parties involved, though, as Barkas failed to nail down a regular spot in the starting XI for the Scottish giants.
He started nine of the club’s first ten Premiership matches but then went on to spend 16 games on the bench and only played five more times.
Scott Bain emerged as the first-choice option for Lennon between the sticks, as the Scottish goalkeeper saved 69% of the shots on his goal across 18 league outings during the 2020/21 campaign.
Whereas, Barkas, who was described as “awful” by pundit Frank McAvennie, only saved 60% of the efforts on his goal across 15 appearances in the Premiership, which suggests that he was not good enough to start over Bain.
Hart was then signed ahead of the 2021/22 campaign and the Greek goalkeeper went on to play just one league match, in which he conceded one goal and made zero saves, for Celtic that season.
How much Barkas cost Celtic in total
For the 2022–2023 season, the Hoops sent him on loan to FC Utrecht in the Netherlands; however, it is unclear how much the Hoops paid for his salary.
The left-footed flop cost Celtic £2 million in salary during his first two years in Glasgow, on top of the £4.5 million they paid AEK to sign him in 2020. If his wage were paid in full, Celtic would have saved £1 million last season.
In the summer of 2023, the Scottish giants then gave him a one-year contract termination early, having originally signed him to a contract that would have lasted until 2024, so he could sign for Utrecht on a free transfer.
Given that the Dutch team did not have to pay anything to recruit Barkas, it follows that Celtic did not get any compensation for him when they ended their permanent relationship with him at the conclusion of the 2022–2023 campaign.
Lennon, therefore, had a nightmare with that signing as the Greek behemoth drained the Hoops of at least £6.5 million in wages and transfer fees combined, failed to live up to expectations on the pitch and had his contract terminated early.
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