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 recently 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). As well as the winning of his eighth league title, the Scottish Cup win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle was his 20th major honour with the club.
Another great season for him personally, this was capped off with an inclusion in the PFA Scotland Scottish Premiership team of the year and a nomination for the PFA Scottish Premiership Player of the Year award.
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 an 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 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.
Season 2020/21 has already seen him break the 300-appearance barrier as well as take him over the 50-goal mark for the Hoops.
COUNTRY BHOY
Callum McGregor has been capped at every age level for Scotland and made his senior debut in a narrow 1-0 defeat to the Netherlands in a friendly at Pittodrie. Just as he has done at Celtic, he has established himself as a key player in the national team.
Going into the 23/24 season, Mcgregor had earned 53 Scotland caps, including a key performance 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.
