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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Blair Meikle

I started so well at Celtic - here is what went wrong and why I had to leave

Luis Palma looked like an inspired signing for Celtic with 25 goal contributions in his first season.

The Honduran winger arrived in a £3.5 million move from Aris in Greece for the 2034/24 campaign and immediately set about showing why Brendan Rodgers had brought him to the club with goals and assists.

There was a goal and strong performance against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and Palma was generally one of the club's biggest threats.

He finished that first season with 12 goals and 13 assists but had tailed off towards the end. And upon returning for his second campaign, he couldn't generate any momentum back.

The 25-year-old is now on loan at Lech Poznan after a spell at Olympiacos last season.

Speaking to The Celtic Way, he said: “My first season at Celtic, that was nice. Everything seemed to go well in that first campaign. I scored 12 goals and had 13 assists. It was a very special season because it was my first year abroad and I enjoyed it a lot.



“That goal against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League came when I felt I was at the peak of my career. It was the first goal of my life in the Champions League, and it was very, very special. Scoring it for a club like Celtic, in front of 60,000 supporters, was a dream come true.

“That first season at Celtic was great. I felt very, very good, and I really enjoyed playing because I was contributing with goals and assists.”

Injuries played a big part in the stuttering second campaign and even once fit, he coudn't seem to find that sharpness.

Opportunities became more and more limited and Palma says he had no choice but to go out on loan.

“I got injuries at Celtic, and it cost me a lot," he added. "The second season is hard for me to talk about because that’s when things started to go sour.

"Despite the setbacks, I always stayed focused. I trained every day and worked hard to be ready if the manager needed me.

“I made the difficult decision to leave Celtic because I wanted to go out on loan and play regular first-team football.”

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