Mikael Lustig has revealed that he could have earned more money by quitting Celtic.
The defender recently signed a new three year contract despite interest from England and Russia that would have more than doubled his weekly wages.
Lustig joined Celtic on a Bosman deal from Rosenborg in January 2012 and has made a big impression after a slow start in Scottish football.
The opportunity to enjoy domestic success and to play in the Champions League has given his game a new platform with the Swede not needing too much convincing to sign his new deal.
“I really love to play for this club so it was never a hard choice,” he explained. “I can play in Europe every year, the fans are amazing, and if I want to change clubs I will need to pick a smaller club.
“Maybe more money, but it’s going to be a smaller club. I’m not that good to choose a bigger club than Celtic and my family really love it here as well so it was never a hard choice.”
Lustig signed his contract after Neil Lennon had resigned and revealed that he was surprised by the departure of the man that brought him to Glasgow.
“I thought that he was going to stay here for at least one more year, but you never know in football, things happen so quickly,” the defender added. “I don’t know everything that happened there but I’m just grateful that I played under him.”
Turning to Lennon’s replacement, Ronny Deila, the defender added: “He liked to play on the ground, attacking football, a lot of combinations, and when we (Rosenborg) faced them at (Stromsgodset’s) home, I found it really hard to beat them. I never won against them when they were at home. They played great football and I heard he was really good with the young lads.
“He is probably the most exciting manager in Scandinavia right now so I’m really happy to work with him.”
