Scott Brown: I'd love to end my career at Celtic

Scott Brown wants to finish his career at Celtic and plans to sit down to discuss a new deal when the season ends.

Lisbon Lion Jim Craig, left, and Celtic captain Scott Brown promote the forthcoming Celebrate 1967 event. Picture: Bill Murray/SNS

Brown, whose contract runs out at the end of next season, could go into the talks having led Celtic to a historic treble.

Manager Brendan Rodgers, who recently extended his stay at the club until 2021, is sure to want his captain’s future secured. Rodgers recently described the 31-year-old midfielder as on a par with Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante – named footballer of the year in England by both his fellow players and football writers.

Brown, who joined Celtic ten years ago today, feels he has nothing to prove by moving to England and is determined to stay at Parkhea.

“I have one year left,” he said yesterday. “We haven’t spoken about extending, not yet. We will wait until after this season is out the way and see what happens. We have three important games left so there is no point in talking about contracts now.

“I would love to stay here as long as possible and finish at this club. It’s the best club I have ever been at and the best club I ever will be at. The fanbase, the football base and training base are first class.

“The ten years doesn’t really mean too much, it’s more about me playing for Celtic as long as I possibly can,” added Brown. “I think once I retire and look back I’ll probably think about it a lot more rather than when I’m still playing.

“Just now, I just need to try to enjoy playing football as long as I possibly can, because you never know when your career is going to be over.

“I’ve got a year left at Celtic, so I’ve got to enjoy the rest of this season and next and you never know where I’ll go from there or what I’ll do from there.”

Linked several times with moves to the English top flight, Brown, has so far resisted.

“No, I don’t need to prove anything to anybody,” he said. “People can judge me if they want, but I’m not going to prove I need to be in England.

“I play for Scotland, I captain my country and the only thing I want to do is lead my country to a World Cup and win 
trophies for Celtic.”

After the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen on 27 May there is a two-week gap before Brown’s season is due to finish with a World Cup qualifier against England at Hampden.

Brown is available for selection but will consult Gordon Strachan before the Scotland manager names his squad.

“Am I playing? I’ll speak to Gordon and see what happens in the next few days,” he said.

“Will I get a holiday? That’s the problem. I have sat down with the gaffer [Rodgers] and looked at a couple of situations. We will see how it goes.”