If the Neymar take was the headline, this was the story buried underneath it that deserves just as much attention.
In the same Overlap episode that set social media on fire, Wayne Rooney — Manchester United's all-time record scorer, Everton-born, England captain, Premier League legend — admitted that one of the great regrets of his career is never having played for Celtic.
"It's well known that I am a Celtic fan," Rooney said on The Wayne Rooney Show segment, "and it's probably one of my regrets not playing for Celtic at some point."
He traced the connection back to his childhood — growing up watching the club as a kid and developing an affection that stayed with him through an entire career spent elsewhere. He also recalled the hostile reception he received at Celtic Park while playing for Manchester United, after he had asked to leave the club and then signed a new deal — a decision that made him deeply unpopular with supporters everywhere.
"So when we went in 2010 they battered me," Rooney recalled. "We got a penalty, and I scored it so ran off celebrating, and it was a real hostile atmosphere. It was when I was using Twitter quite a bit as well, and I got hammered on Twitter, so I was expecting it."
For an Everton-born player who spent his entire career in England and America, the Celtic admission is genuinely surprising. It speaks to the pull that certain clubs have on players who grew up watching them — a pull that contracts, salaries and silverware can never entirely override.
