Brendan Rodgers explains why he left Celtic for Leicester

Last season, in the middle of Celtic’s run to a third-straight treble, Brendan Rodgers surprised the football world by leaving the Hoops in order to join Leicester.

Since his arrival, Rodgers has turned the Foxes around, proving himself to be an elite European manager with Leicester currently in third place.

Now, he has begun to open up about the reasons why he left Celtic despite winning everything.

“I was only the third manager in the history of the whole club to get a treble,” he told Oxford Union in a conversation which was recorded earlier in the year.

“We created a British record, our win percentage there was quite good.

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“Our first season, we became invincible and scored the most goals and had the most wins and that was all a first.

“We backed that up with another treble and it was the first time in history that had been done.

“And of course you can keep going and going and going, you just have that decision to make.

“I think sometimes people look at mangers and think about ego and I think if it was that it might have the urge to stay on.

“But for me, I loved every second of being there and – of course – I understand when I left it maybe wasn’t the ideal time and there was a lot of hurt.

“I can never forget everything I did there and what we did as a club and how we put the team into that mentality.

“And now when I watch Neil (Lennon, the club’s current manager) – I know Neil well – I am so happy for him.

“I am happy for the guys, all the players and for the supporters to keep the momentum going and hopefully get the nine this year and then onto ten which would be absolutely brilliant.

“I only have joy for watching them.

“I was only watching them the other day. I always follow, I always see it and I am always in contact with the players.

“That’s a decision you make. I know what the feeling is like, there’s not a team like Celtic in the world.

“So I understand the feeling of a Celtic supporter because they could never understand if you support the club then how could you walk out into another?

“But that’s the professional side, this is my life and this is my work. It’s not just a hobby, football is my life and my work.”