Paolo Di Canio has opened up on his blockbuster spell at Celtic and the fallout that led him to say "Ciao Ciao" to his Parkhead stint.
The charismatic Italian was a signing straight out of the Hollywood scripts for the Hoops in 1996 after being a top player for clubs such as Lazio, Napoli and AC Milan in Serie A. Di Canio hit the ground running with 15 goals in 37 appearances for Celtic but stayed for just one season after some major powder-keg moments in the green and white, eventually being bought by Sheffield Wednesday in a move worth around £4.2million to the forward.
Di Canio's disagreements with Fabio Capello that led to his Celtic arrival are well documented, as was his contract tete-a-tete with then Hoops chairman Fergus McCann and general manager Jock Brown but the 55-year-old has pulled no punches in conversation with radio host Simon Jordan. He told the Up Front podcast: "Andrea Stramaccioni phoned me in Italy and said 'Paulo, you have another week there, I don't want you to fight every day because Celtic, they still want you'
"I say I still have a one-year contract to go, it's the time to move...I say I go to Celtic because Tommy Burns for two years wanted me, and this person who wants me there, is desperate in some way, I'm curious. I want to go.
"I used to play Subbuteo when I was younger with this incredible shirt I had never seen before, the green and white, I say I will go. I didn't have one moment where I maybe thought - I went there in August and it was already cold - someone would say I should go back to Italy. But I said I want to be here, to stay here because with this weather I can fight better. I can play. It was the warmest welcome from the fans which made all the difference. If I had any doubt, that disappeared in an instant. Parkhead, the stadium, was amazing."
On his fallout at Celtic, he added: "When I shake hands with anyone, that counts way more for me than a hundred thousand contracts. At the beginning of the season we were negotiations, asking about money or bonus, but in the end they didn't want to give me what I expected. I said okay, by the end of the season if I'm doing with goals and assists and become an important part of the team, they say 'okay but we can't put this clause on the contract'.
"At the end of the season, if everybody voted you player of the year - were they mad? Or maybe I paid them or cost too much [he joked]. But straight away they said no we don't negotiate because from our point of view you did not have a good season.
"So I say ciao ciao from the office but you don't have my respect anymore because I went to pre-season in Ireland, but I was speaking to the media saying I'm not happy here because he didn't respect my work. I said to the Chairman through my agent if you want to sell me, sell me because I don't know if I can play, give my best, with no good feeling there."
