CELTIC hero Charlie Mulgrew has revealed he had a long-lasting secret feud with his former Aberdeen boss Mark McGhee.
The former Celtic and Scotland defender played under the Scottish football icon at Pittodrie before working with him again in the national team setup.
Mulgrew, now 39, spent a year under McGhee between 2009 and 2010 before he left Aberdeen to rejoin his boyhood team Celtic, a decision that left the manager furious.
The retired versatile player moved to the Hoops on a free transfer after turning down contract offers from McGhee, who wanted to keep him.
Mulgrew was then targeted by the 68-year-old in the media following his move and the pair locked horns throughout the years over various incidents.
Mulgrew famously had a pop at McGhee in 2022 after the manager claimed his goal for Dundee United against his Dundee team was a fluke.
‘NEVER MISSES A TRICK’
Celtic fans convinced Rodgers has aimed dig at Nancy & Desmond
TOTE’S WORTH IT
Get £30 in free bets and bonuses when you stake £10 on football with Tote
He scored a stunning free-kick to make it 2-0 for United at Tannadice but McGhee insisted the defender didn’t mean to score when he spoke at full-time.
Mulgrew then went viral following his own post-match interview when he responded to the interviewer who mentioned McGhee’s comments.
Mulgrew hit back: “Did he aye?
“(He’s) raging isn’t he? Fuming. That sounds bitter that!”
Fans were in hysterics but the general view was that it was just a bit of banter between the two men.
But Mulgrew has revealed there was much more to it than that.
Addressing the interview on The Breakdown podcast with Kevin Thomson, Mulgrew said: “There’s a story behind that. I scored a free-kick and after the game he said I didn’t mean it. There’s a story behind it that people don’t understand.
“Mark McGhee was my manager at Aberdeen. I left on a free transfer to join Celtic and he was fuming. He tried offering me a new contract.
“He then did an article in the paper caning me. It was something I didn’t need because Celtic fans weren’t exactly jumping off their chairs that I had signed for them. He criticised me as a player, it’s the last thing you need.
“I phoned him up asking ‘what you are you doing?’, we had a discussion and left it.
“Sure enough, he’s my Scotland assistant coach. I’m playing in Gordon Strachan‘s first game against Estonia at Easter Road.
“In the first 10 minutes, I do a Cruyff turn and someone takes it off me and runs away with it. I then find out off the boys on the bench that McGhee was telling Strachan to take me off.
“They were asking ‘what’s Mark McGhee‘s problem with you? He was having a go on the bench’.
“I ended up scoring the winner, it was a set-piece routine that we did at Celtic.
“We later played England at Wembley and I get the shout to come on.
“Mark McGhee was on set-pieces and he told me that Broony (Scott Brown) was to pick up Wayne Rooney and I was to go in the space.
“The minute I go onto the pitch, Rickie Lambert comes on – an absolute unit – for Rooney. They get a corner straight away and McGhee starts shouting all this stuff and I don’t know what he’s saying.
“Broony stays close to Lambert and I stay in the space. Who scores with the first touch of the ball? Lambert.
“Mark McGhee goes for me in the dressing room at Wembley and I’m like ‘what are you talking about? Broony was picking up and they made the sub’.
“He said ‘I was trying to tell you…’ and I was like ‘f*** off’
“We were arguing and Strachan gets a bit of order back. It was done but he always had this thing with me.
“The Dundee game then comes and people were saying ‘Mark McGhee said you didn’t mean it’ and everything just comes flooding back.”
Although Mulgrew still holds some of those moments against McGhee, he insists there was no real bad blood whenever a Scotland camp came around.
But responding to the Celtic hero’s stories, Thomson laughed: “So we’ll not be getting Mark McGhee on the podcast?
Mulgrew: “Mark McGhee won’t be on.”
He continued: “Listen, our relationship always ended fine when we were with Scotland.”
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
