Juranovic, Starfelt and Giakoumakis- Kris Commons’ gives his insight into wages and the desssing room

With Giorgos Giakoumakis and Josip Juranovic expected to leave Celtic this month Kris Commons has given an insight into the wage issues inside a football dressing room.

Contracts and wages aren’t based on form or contributions to the team but on the negotiating skills of an agent when a player is being signed.

What exactly is inside contracts remains secret, quotes of how much someone earns per week aren’t especially relevant when there are multiple bonus payments on offer and loyalty payments for staying on for the duration of a contract.

Commons joined Celtic in January 2011 from Derby County, three years later he signed a new deal while Ronny Deila was in charge but never played a minute under Brendan Rodgers before retiring due to a recurring back injury.

Taking a look inside the guarded world of wages, in the Daily Mail Commons writes:

There were always players in the dressing room on big wages at Celtic. And you knew what they were on.

The likes of Scott Brown, who was the club captain. The likes of Georgios Samaras, who had come from earning big at Manchester City. The likes of Ledley, who came in from Cardiff.

If you are Juranovic and you know you are earning substantially less than, say, Carl Starfelt, what are you going to feel?

For me Starfelt is bang average. His agent has done him a huge turn getting him a big salary at Celtic.

Juranovic, meanwhile, is a World Cup semi-finalist linked with Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester United. He’s entitled to feel he should be on a wage which reflects his status in the squad. Clearly, the offer Celtic have made him has left a sour taste in his mouth. 

If you’re Celtic you have to balance the wants of players with the need to keep an eye on the wage structure. Especially when they look across at the recent history on the other side of Glasgow and see what happened at Rangers.

In recent years Celtic have been very guilty of wasting millions on the likes of Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti, who did nothing. 

Under Ange Postecoglou, they’ve got a grip on that and spent money wisely. They’ve signed Alistair Johnston, they have Anthony Ralston and they might feel that if the offer is right they don’t want to prevent Juranovic making the money he can make elsewhere.

Ultimately players have always left football clubs. When it’s Kieran Tierney to Arsenal or Henrik Larsson to Barcelona, you hold your hands up and say ‘fair enough’.

But I know for a fact that if Gary Hooper hadn’t left he’d have been more successful at Celtic. I know that if Rogic was still there he wouldn’t be embroiled in a mid-table battle with West Brom.

I’d say to any player leaving, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. There is nothing like Celtic. And once you’re gone there’s no going back.

Juranovic and Giakoumakis both signed five years contracts when they joined Celtic in August 2021.