List of Celtic F.C. players

Photograph of Billy McNeill taken in the early 1980s
Billy McNeill has made the most appearances for Celtic in major competitions, and also captained the side from 1963 up to his retirement from playing in 1975. McNeill went on to manage Celtic in two spells during the 1980s.

Celtic Football Club (/ˈsɛltɪk/) is a Scottish professional football club based in Parkhead, Glasgow. The club was founded in 1887 and played their first match in May 1888, a friendly match against Rangers.[1] The club played their first competitive match in September 1888, when they entered the first round of the 1888–89 Scottish Cup.[2] Since playing their first competitive match, more than 200 players have made at least 100 appearances (including substitute appearances); those players are listed here. Other players who have made fewer appearances are also included where they are regarded as having played a significant role for the club, with the reason for their inclusion indicated in the Notes column.

Celtic's record appearance-maker is Billy McNeill, who made a total of 790 appearances in major competitions over an 18-year playing career. Alec McNair holds the record at Celtic for most league appearances, and is also the oldest player to have competed for the club. Jimmy McGrory is the club's top goalscorer with 472 goals in major competitions. He is also the record goalscorer in British football, with a total of 550 goals in competitive first class matches. Henrik Larsson has more appearances for Celtic than any other player from outwith the British Isles. He is also the club's third highest goalscorer of all time, behind McGrory and Bobby Lennox, with 242 goals in all competitions. Jimmy Johnstone, part of Celtic's European Cup winning Lisbon Lions team alongside McNeill and Lennox, was voted by Celtic supporters in 2002 as the club's greatest ever player.

James Kelly was the club's first ever captain, playing in the club's inaugural game against Rangers in 1888. He later served as a director and then as chairman. He effectively founded the Kelly dynasty of directors at Celtic, who by and large controlled the club until 1994.[3][4][5] Other club captains also went on to important roles at Celtic after the end of their playing careers, with Jimmy McStay, Jimmy McGrory, Jock Stein, Billy McNeill, Davie Hay and Neil Lennon all going on to manage the side.[6][7][8] Scott Brown, who played 620 games for the club and was captain throughout the 2010s,[9][10] is also the Celtic player to have captained the Scotland international team the most times.[11] Paul McStay, who captained Celtic during the 1990s, has won the most caps for Scotland whilst at Celtic with 76 appearances,[12] whilst Pat Bonner of the Republic of Ireland has made the most appearances for his country whilst a Celtic player (80 caps).[12]

  1. ^ "Brief History". Celtic FC. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  2. ^ Cuddihy, Paul; Friel, David (2010). The Century Bhoys: The Official History of Celtic's Greatest Goalscorers. Black & White Publishing. ISBN 9781845026103. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  3. ^ McCarra, Kevin (2012). "4 – Bob Kelly". Celtic:A Biography in Nine Lives. Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-23435-6. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  4. ^ Campbell, Tom; Woods, Pat (1987). The Glory & The Dream. Grafton Books. p. 344. ISBN 0-586-20005-3.
  5. ^ Cairney, John (1998). A Scottish Football Hall of Fame. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84018-044-2. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  6. ^ Cuddihy, Paul (6 June 2014). "Ronny Deila is Celtic's No.17". Celtic FC. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference capts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Lennon the way forward for Celtic". UEFA. 9 June 2010. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  9. ^ "Scott Brown's 400th Celtic game: Captain 'could go down as true club great'". BBC Sport. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  10. ^ "Brown, Scott". Fitbastats. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  11. ^ McConnell, Alison (28 March 2017). "Hoops skipper Scott Brown the Celtic player to have captained his country the most times". Evening Time. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  12. ^ a b McGuirk, Brian (April 2009). Celtic FC – the Ireland Connection. Black and White Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84502-248-8. Retrieved 28 September 2015.