Where did the £47 thousand pounds a week Celtic story come from? And how it was debunked.

My 74-Year-Old Mum Smelt a Rat Long Before the Truth Emerged

My mum is 74 years old, a huge Celtic fan and, if I’m being honest, she knows more about Celtic than I do.

When the Daily Record, in a report by Michael Gannon, claimed Kelechi Iheanacho’s wage demands had reached £47,000 to £50,000 a week, she didn’t believe it for a second.

She didn’t have inside information.

She didn’t need it.

She simply opened Google.

Within minutes she had been reading about Bursaspor, a Turkish second-tier club whose financial problems had been widely reported. She then phoned me and said the story simply didn’t add up. How could a club in that position afford wages of £47,000 or £50,000 a week?

It made no sense to her.

A few days later, Bursaspor president Enes Çelik publicly rejected the figures that had been circulating. He explained that Iheanacho’s salary was significantly lower than had been reported, backing up the doubts many supporters had already raised.

That naturally raises another question.

Michael Gannon was with Celtic on the club’s pre-season tour in Portugal. Shortly afterwards, the £47,000-a-week story appeared in the Daily Record.

Where did that figure come from?

Who was the source?

I don’t know, and I’m not claiming to.

But supporters are perfectly entitled to ask those questions when such a specific figure becomes the accepted explanation for why another Celtic transfer failed to materialise.

It doesn’t take Taggart to understand why many supporters have become sceptical.

Too often, explanations appear that seem to take the spotlight away from the board after a transfer disappointment. Whether that is coincidence or not, supporters are increasingly unwilling to accept headlines without asking where the information originated and whether it had been properly verified.

My 74-year-old mum did exactly what every supporter should do.

She questioned it.

She researched it.

Then she phoned me because she couldn’t believe how quickly the story fell apart with a simple Google search.

Days later, the Bursaspor president publicly contradicted the figures that had dominated the headlines.

For me, that is the real story.

Modern Celtic supporters are informed. They don’t simply accept what they are told. They investigate. They compare reports. They ask difficult questions.

In my opinion, that is exactly how it should be.

The Celtic support deserves transparency, context and accurate reporting. If a 74-year-old supporter can spot obvious questions with a simple Google search, perhaps everyone involved in reporting major Celtic transfer stories should remember that today’s fans expect evidence before they accept any explanation.