Aiden McGeady explains why he left Celtic for Spartak Moscow
Aiden McGeady tells Peter Martin why he swapped Celtic for Moscow, what four years in Russia were like and how his move to Everton came about.
By Peter Martin,
Aiden McGeady has explained his decision to leave Celtic for Spartak Moscow, telling Peter Martin on Straight Talk that he had always wanted to test himself somewhere else.
"I'd look back in my career and regret it if I never tried England or tried somewhere else," he said in the interview, first published in August 2023.
Spartak had seen him play against them in the Champions League, and Celtic accepted the bid. McGeady's explanation of how the deal moved was simple: "Russian clubs don't mess about."
Four years in Moscow
McGeady spent four years in Russia. He described Valery Karpin as "quite a volatile character himself" and spoke of run-ins and clashes.
On the pitch, his time at Spartak included a Europa League quarter-final against a Porto side featuring Hulk and Falcao, and a Champions League meeting with Barcelona. He also explained the rule that teams had to field six Russian nationals in their starting line-up.
Off it, his daughter was born in Moscow but could not get a Russian passport. McGeady also touched on the sense of being out of sight and out of mind. When he was home at Christmas, people would ask where he was playing now, and his answer was: "I'm still in Russia."
The move to Everton
His exit from Spartak came with six months left on his contract. No new deal had been agreed, and he was back with the under-18s. Then Everton came up.
He joined in the January, and Everton finished fifth that season. McGeady called it a good club but said there were "unrealistic expectations from the fans".
He was candid about Ronald Koeman too. His verdict on the Dutchman was "Didn't really like him", though he added that "he was at least quite honest and fair with me".
The conversation also covered the Everton car park, with Samuel Eto'o's Ferrari and a Ford Mustang, as well as Yannick Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha.
This is the second part of McGeady's Straight Talk interview. The first part covered Martin O'Neill's Celtic, Henrik Larsson, Benfica and Tommy Burns.