Callum McGregor
One of the brightest talents to emerge from Celtic’s Youth Academy system, Callum McGregor has gone on to establish himself as one of the best Scottish players of his generation.
Having signed a contract extension with the club until 2028, McGregor captained the team to a record eighth domestic treble in 2022/23 (a fifth for him personally) and a Scottish Cup and League title double in 2023/24. As well as the winning of his ninth league title, the Scottish Cup win against Rangers was his 22nd major honour with the club.
With 2023/24 being another great season for him personally, it was capped off with an inclusion in the PFA Scotland Scottish Premiership team of the year (his fourth time selected).
Working in the heart of midfield, McGregor has become a fans’ favourite and a key component of the team. His range of passing, technical ability and reading of the game make McGregor a vital asset in both attack and defence.
A successful loan spell at Notts County for the duration of the 2013/14 season was the platform McGregor needed to break through at Paradise. He made 41 appearances for the League One outfit and finished top scorer that season. His rise continued upon his return to Glasgow and the then 21-year-old made quite the impact on his Hoops debut with a winning goal in a 1-0 victory away to KR Rejkyavik in a Champions League qualifier.
He remained a regular in the first team throughout Ronny Deila’s time as manager but it was under Brendan Rodgers than McGregor made huge leaps forward and he became an instrumental figure throughout the Invincibles, Double, Treble and Quadruple Treble runs.
McGregor built on his form during the 2016/17 Invincible season with consistently excellent performances in the 2017/18 campaign where his 12 goals made him the only player to score in every competition for Celtic that season. And he set more records in the 2018/19 season as Celtic clinched the Treble Treble. His value to the team was highlighted in the number of appearances he made that year. At the close of the 2018/19 campaign he had played more minutes of competitive football than any other player in world football.
COUNTRY BHOY
Before retiring from international football on August 24, Mcgregor was capped 63 times for Scotland. His 16 year period for the international team saw him represent the team at various levels from the under-16s Victory Shield to the men’s full team.
This culminated in helping the side qualify for back-to-back UEFA EUROs in 2020 and 2024 where he became the first Men’s full team player to score a goal at a major tournament in 23 years - against Croatia at Hampden at Euro 2020.
Mcgregor had several key performances including playing in the memorable 2-0 victory over Spain in March 2023 and three games in UEFA Euro 2020, during which he scored the country's only goal of the tournament, his first in a Scotland strip.
