"I was speaking to my boy the other day. I was telling him, 'listen, if you are a kid of 19 or 20 years old and you want to play football to make money you will never make it.' Too many kids leave Scotland for England thinking of the money and the players who think only of money will never fulfil their dream."
"I could actually have got a better deal for Rocco. I was with a sporting director negotiating his contract and if I had pushed I could have got more. I said to him, 'what you are offering him is more than enough. He is going to work hard to earn it because right now I'm not sure he even deserves this money for the amount of games he has played.'"
"Yes the money for my boy was more than what Celtic offered, but in my opinion, Celtic did not have a proper project, they did not have a proper plan or pathway."
Rocco Vata departed Celtic for Watford in 2024, influenced by the absence of a proper plan for his progression to the first team. His father, Rudi, emphasized that many young players face blocked paths and may give up. Despite being a promising forward, Vata was not given sufficient opportunities at Celtic, leading him to reject a new contract. Rudi negotiated a deal that focused on performance incentives rather than just financial gain, highlighting the need for long-term planning in player development.
Read at Daily Record
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