Brendan Rodgers urges probe after leak suggests he is plotting exit from Celtic

Brendan Rodgers has demanded an internal inquiry at Celtic after a tabloid report suggested senior figures at the club believe he is "engineering his exit." The manager called the leak a "cowardly action," denied the allegation and said he remains open to staying in Glasgow beyond 2026 if conditions behind the scenes are aligned.

Rodgers addressed the matter at an extraordinary media conference on Friday after a newspaper last weekend quoted a club source saying his public remarks during the summer transfer window had "torn the club apart." The Northern Irishman said the report contained "quite a bit of detail" that was wrong and urged Celtic to unmask whoever briefed against him.

"It was interesting when it came, when I was shown that," Rodgers said. "My honest take, I thought it was a cowardly action, by whoever it is."

Rodgers said he was not surprised to see such a story because similar allegations had surfaced the first time he left the club and since he returned. He described himself as "thick skinned" and said his priority was to drive Celtic forward.

He defended his relationships with long-standing club figures, naming Dermot Desmond, Peter Lawwell and Michael Nicholson, and said those he works with "feel the same as I." Asked whether the matter was serious enough to merit an internal investigation and whether the leaker should resign, Rodgers replied: "I don't think there's any doubt." He said anyone with concerns could speak to him directly.

"If you're sat in the position that I'm in with the weight of the club on your shoulders, and to be the spokesperson and be the manager and be the psychologist and be everything, it's so important that you feel supported," Rodgers said. "And I think that if anyone is briefing against that person when they know they could come and speak to me at any time, I'm here from early morning to late in the evening... I would never ever think of going to bring that to the fore to hurt someone else."

Rodgers also addressed his future at the club. Contrary to the tabloid's suggestion that senior figures believed he was plotting an exit, he said he would consider staying beyond 2026 "100 per cent" provided the club and he were aligned on how to operate.

"I came back to hopefully stay for more than three years. What I would guarantee was that I would do three years which I've been categorical in that. So, I want to do three years and I'm more determined to do it," he said. "And if going forward, if I do get offered a deal, then of course there needs to be conditions within that allows me to work to the best I possibly can. If not, then it's maybe just there are two philosophies that don't quite add up, I'll accept that. I'll go away, I'll be a Celtic supporter for the rest of my life and we'll go our separate ways."

The manager reiterated his dissatisfaction with how aspects of the recent transfer window were handled but stressed that his return to Celtic was motivated by a desire to take the club forward. He pointed to progress in European competition in recent seasons while acknowledging the club had not succeeded in the Champions League in the current campaign.

Rodgers said he understood and supported supporters planning to protest the board at Rugby Park on Sunday following what many fans saw as a disappointing transfer window. "Absolutely," he said when asked if he had any issue with fans demonstrating their unhappiness. "That frustration is shared. We all felt that. Absolutely. Hence why months out we were saying about what we needed in the squad. So, yeah, I totally get that."

The tabloid piece that prompted Rodgers' response quoted anonymous club sources who claimed senior figures believed his public comments had damaged internal cohesion. Rodgers disputed that portrayal and said he expected questions to be asked about the source and accuracy of the information published.

Celtic have not publicly announced any formal internal probe. The club's board and executives named by Rodgers have not issued a response to his comments at the time of the conference.