Celtic hero lifts lid on being bossed by Rangers icon - but has last laugh with career best revelation

Former Celtic striker Moussa Dembele believes he is thriving under the tutelage of ex-Rangers boss Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia.

The Liverpool legend signed Dembele last year as one of his main forwards and the 28-year-old Frenchman, who became a cult hero at Celtic during his two seasons at Parkhead between 2016 and 2018, has explained why Gerrard makes his tick.

Speaking ahead of Al-Ettifaq’s match against Al Qadisiya in derby weekend for the Roshn Saudi League, Dembele said of Gerrard: “He’s a legend. We’ve all seen him when we were young. For me, it’s a pleasure to work with him every day and be alongside him. He is the kind of manager who is listening to every single one of us.

Former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard is currently in charge of Al-Ettifaq. | Getty Images

“He’s trying to improve every day as a manager and make us improve as players – that’s what I like about him. It’s more like a relationship with your big brother rather than a coach but at the end of the day, he’s the gaffer and he makes the decisions – and I just say yes!”

Dembele has scored 15 goals in 33 appearances since moving to Al-Ettifaq from Lyon and on playing in Saudi Arabia, he continued: “Saudi Arabia has treated me well since the first day I came here. Being outside your country and away from your family, I was alone here at first, it’s hard at the beginning but they made me welcome.

“They are friendly and want you to feel good in their country; that’s the good thing about it. I’ve really liked my time here and I’m just happy to be here. Before I joined, I knew it was going to be something big because there were players who had joined before me.”

Dembele is enjoying rubbing shoulders with Cristiano Ronaldo, the superstar forward who plays for Al-Nassr. “I think he’s one of the best players ever, simple,” said Dembele. “He’s the top scorer ever, so his record speaks for itself. He’s a great player; we all saw him when we were young and now, we are facing him. (The feeling) is just like ‘it’s happening, I’ve made it. Today I’m here facing him’. We all have respect for him and his career but obviously we try and beat him.”

Dembele left Celtic in 2018, but still has fond memories of his time in Glasgow. “Everything came quick, and I had to decide with my family and friends and make sure I took the right decision for my career,” he said of his move to Glasgow. Obviously, if you had told me before that I would play in Scotland then I would have said no!

Moussa Dembele spent two seasons at Celtic. | SNS Group

“But I think it was one of the best experiences of my life playing for Celtic. I enjoyed those two years and I’m still a big fan of Celtic and keep following the club every game. If you’d told me before my journey would be that great, I’d have signed straight away.”

Asked what his best moment of his career is, Dembele replied in reference to an Old Firm derby in 2016: “My best memory was scoring three goals against Rangers. There was scoring the winner against St Etienne, scoring two in the quarter-finals (of the Champions League) for Lyon against Manchester City – there’s many of them but if I had to choose one, it would probably be the hat-trick against Rangers.”