GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 19: Neil Lennon (L) and Stiliyan Petrov after a UEFA Europa League Play-Off First Leg match between Celtic and VFB Stuttgart at Celtic Park, on February 19, 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Stan Petrov has delivered an incredible podcast as he genuinely reveals all about his early days at Celtic.
Nothing is spared as he delivers on his relationships with managers, team-mates and his contract details.
Petrov arrived at Celtic in the summer of 1999 as the John Barnes and Kenny Dalglish era got underway.
Bobby Petta, Olivier Tebily and Eyal Berkovic arrived in the same transfer window as disaster loomed.
Petta had something of a revival when Martin O’Neill arrived a year later. Petrov was utterly transformed, becoming a key Celtic player for five seasons.
The media trend is towards podcasts where former players virtually chat among themselves as if they were in the dressing room.
Gabby Agbonlahor almost achieves that with Petrov, their 20 minute chat makes for compulsive viewing.
At 8 minutes Petrov reveals that his Celtic wage on arrival in 1999 was £300 a week. After a fee of £2.8m was paid to CSKA Sofia.
Petrov claimed that his agent was getting paid £100,000 a year from the deal, more than six times what the young midfielder was earning on the pitch.
Petrov was adamant that he wasn’t playing for the money. He left Bulgaria to play for two great clubs with some legendary names among his team-mates.
Six months after Martin O’Neill took over (December 2000) Petrov got a new Celtic contract.
By that time his team-mates included Chris Sutton, Alan Thompson and Neil Lennon who were on similar contracts to the EPL deals that they had left behind.
In-between times John Barnes was his first manager at Celtic, Petrov admits that ‘John never really put any effort in to help me’.
THE PETROV TRANSFORMATION
The teenager from Bulgaria was like the rest of the players, incidental as the Barnes ego was developed at every opportunity.
Petrov revealed that the outsider, the player with the language issue was given six weeks to get fit and prove that was worth a place in O’Neill’s plans. He responded by losing 10 kilos in pre-season training, fans struggled to recognise the young Bulgarian.
The young Bulgarian was transformed. He scored the second goal in the 6-2 match at the end of August.
Celtic never looked back, Rangers never recovered. The tide turned in Scottish football, things haven’t been the same since.
O’Neill had Celtic on top, Dave Murray and Dick Advocaat had their invincibility shot to pieces.
Petrov’s new contract was for £2,500 a week. Eight times more than he was on but still a tenth of the top earners at Celtic. There was however a win bonus of £3,500.
There are some old favourites covered with a little more detail.
The Security Guard and the Burger Van is covered in detail as the young Bulgarian got to grips with an alien language.
A slightly different side to Henrik Larsson is revealed when the half time team talk saw Petrov’s shirt grabbed as he was told in no uncertain terms what the star Celtic striker expected in terms of service.
