Celtic have appointed Wilfried Nancy as their new head coach, prizing him from the Columbus Crew and ending a more than month-long search for a permanent successor to Brendan Rodgers.
Nancy has signed a two-and-a-half year contract with the Scottish giants and will officially begin work on Thursday.
Columbus said they had reached an agreement for Nancy to join Celtic for an undisclosed fee. The MLS side added that assistant coach Kwame Ampadu, assistant coach and fitness coach Jules Gueguen and video performance coach Maxime Chalier will join Nancy in Glasgow.
“I am so happy to be named Celtic Manager, it is a massive honour for myself and my family,” Nancy said in the team’s announcement.
“I know the history, I know the values of Celtic and I know what is expected of me on this journey,” he added. “I know what Celtic means to so many people and my No. 1 aim will be simple — to give our fans a strong, exciting, attacking, winning football team they can be so proud of.”
Rodgers resigned on Oct. 27 following a 3-1 loss to Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts the previous day. Martin O’Neill was subsequently placed in interim charge of the team, with Shaun Maloney alongside him.
Since then, Celtic have won all five of their domestic games — including a 3-1 Scottish League Cup semifinal win over Old Firm rivals Rangers to set up a final against St. Mirren on Dec. 14. The only loss O’Neill has presided over was a 3-1 Europa League defeat to Midtjylland.
Celtic’s search for a permanent replacement for Brendan Rodgers has ended with Wilfred Nancy. Jason Mowry/Getty Images
“Before I say anything else I want to do one thing — I want to thank the great Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney for all they have done in recent weeks with the team,” Nancy said. “The job they have done has been fantastic.
“Now its up to me to carry on this great work and carry our great club forward and I can’t wait to get going and become part of such a brilliant institution. Celtic is one of the world’s proper football clubs, real atmosphere and heart and soul, real high standards and real demands, which I am ready for.”
Nancy’s first game in charge will be at home to Hearts, who Celtic trail by four points, on Sunday.
“We are really pleased to welcome Wilfried to Celtic,” Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell said. “He is a Manager with a record which demonstrates the kind of football which we know Celtic supporters love to see. We will give Wilfried all our support as we look to once again bring success to our fans.”
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Columbus finished seventh in the MLS Eastern Conference this season before losing to rivals FC Cincinnati in the first round of the MLS playoffs. He previously led the Crew to the 2023 MLS Cup title and 2024 Leagues Cup.
The Le Havre-born coach scooped the MLS Coach of the Year award in 2024 and was at CF Montréal prior to his three-year stint at Crew.
“Wilfried helped our Club accomplish so much over the past three seasons, and we’ll forever be grateful for his passion and efforts to advance the Crew and Major League Soccer,” Crew owners the Haslam, Johnson and Edwards families in a club statement.
“He led us to our third MLS Cup, first Leagues Cup championship and a Concacaf Champions Cup Final, and most importantly, his leadership further established a culture and commitment to success that will continue to positively impact our Club for years to come. While we strived to keep Wilfried in Columbus, he was clear that coaching Celtic is an important next step in his professional and personal journey, which we know firsthand will be ‘limitless.””
Information from ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle contributed to this story.
