Mark Viduka has revealed that mental burnout forced him to walk out on Celtic after his £3.5m signing from Croatia Zagreb.
The Australian internationalist had helped end Celtic’s hopes of reaching the Champions League group stage at the start of the 98/99 season with Dr Jo Venglos convincing Fergus McCann to spend £3.5m on the signing.
At the start of December he was ready to make his debut but the day before Celtic faced Hearts at Tynecastle he headed back to Australia.
There had been no indication that there were any problems when he was introduced to the media but throughout December and January the sports pages were dominated by the disappearing striker.
By the time he returned Celtic’s defence of the SPL title was virtually over, Viduka scored eight goals but his season ended after being red carded for a spitting incident against Dunfermline.
Covering an interview Viduka gave with ESPN in Croatia The Sun reports:
I was burned out. Burned out mentally. I just needed a break, and getting back to see my family and friends is what I needed. Thank God I did. They were understanding, but urged me back. I have a lot to thank them for.
At the start of the following season, under new manager John Barnes, Viduka formed a brilliant partnership with Henrik Larsson until the Swede broke his leg away to Lyon.
Viduka went on to score 27 goals in 38 appearances but made it known that he wanted to move on with Celtic using the £6m fee from Leeds United to sign Chris Sutton as Martin O’Neill put his stamp on the side.
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