Celtic have a history of buying players for minimal fees and selling for huge profits, but one player who did not represent a huge profit was Giorgos Giakoumakis.
The Greek striker joined Celtic from VVV-Venlo for £2.5 million in August 2021, later departing in March last year for £3.5 million to MLS side Atlanta United.
Since joining Atlanta, he has notched up an incredible 24 goals in 43 games for the Five Stripes, with respected journalist Fabrizio Romano reporting that the Greek international is on the verge of crossing the USA-Mexico border to join Cruz Azul for $10 million.
🚨🚂 Cruz Azul have agreed on personal terms with Giōrgos Giakoumakīs, now close to completing deal with Atlanta United.
After $10m bid revealed last week, Cruz Azul and Atlanta are negotiating on the installments, considered final details.
Getting closer ⏳🔵🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/V0heQTiUPB
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 3, 2024
Given Celtic sold Giakoumakis for £3.5 million last year, it represents a situation where the Hoops have underrated the value of a player on the books.
However, given the fact that the Greek striker was unwilling to play second fiddle to Kyogo Furuhashi, that undoubtedly meant that Celtic, in the end, were willing to accept less for Giakoumakis than they would have initially hoped for.
In his time in Glasgow, Giakoumakis was undoubtedly a roaring success.
In his first season, the Greek international netted 13 league goals in just 21 Scottish Premiership appearances, finishing as the league’s top goal scorer.
Giakoumakis’ second season would ultimately prove frustrating, and despite scoring in the Champions League, he failed to become Celtic’s top striker, leading to a public falling out with the then Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou over the Greek’s social media posts.
One question that may arise from Giakoumakis’ move to Cruz Azul is whether Celtic have a sell-on clause in the Greek’s move to Atlanta.
Given they only made a profit of just £1 million, the Hoops may have been shrewd enough to insert a clause meaning that they could be entitled to a percentage of any transfer fee Atlanta receive.
