Moussa Dembele: Celtic striker joins Lyon in £19.7m move
Last updated on .From the section Celtic
Celtic striker Moussa Dembele has completed a £19.7m move to Lyon, the French club have said.
The Ligue 1 club's president Jean-Michel Aulas said the French under-21 forward has signed a five-year deal.
The Scottish champions announced on Friday night that they had accepted an offer for Dembele.
Manager Brendan Rodgers said earlier in the day that a "significant" bid had been rejected for the 22-year-old, and that he did not expect him to be sold.
However, in a statement, Rodgers later said the fresh bid had been accepted "to serve the best interests" of "the culture and environment" at Celtic.
"The board and myself are united and they have been very supportive to me on this issue," Rodgers said.
Dembele - who was halfway through a four-year deal - sat out Thursday's Europa League win over Suduva after Lyon's bid emerged.
The former Fulham player later posted two tweets, containing messages which read: "A man, without his word, is nothing. A real man keeps his word", and "A lie has many variations, the truth has none".
On Friday, he made a brief appearance on the club's Lennoxtown training pitch before retreating indoors.
"It is vital to make clear that we have never promised any player that he can leave the club at a particular time," added Rodgers in the club statement.
"It has never happened. In fact, we have said all along that we did not wish to sell Moussa, given the circumstances within the transfer window and that is why we rejected a significant offer yesterday.
"However, this particular decision to accept this offer has been taken in order to serve the best interests of the first-team squad, my coaching team and the culture and environment we have created in these last two seasons."
Are Celtic weaker? Or is it good business? - analysis
Sportscene pundit and former Scotland midfielder Michael Stewart
Rodgers said the deal wasn't likely to happen because it didn't give him time to recruit a replacement. What's changed? This transfer window has descended into farce for Celtic. The squad is dramatically weaker now and a lot of it is self inflicted.
BBC Scotland pundit and former Hibs striker Tam McManus
£18m for Dembele is terrific business for Celtic. It's unreal, given they picked him up for £500,000. He was clearly unsettled and wanted to go. The club got the absolute most they could have in my opinion. They had to punt him now.


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Utterly laughable trying to impose morals onto others, when you don't even have them yourself!
It's actually the perfect time to sell because it's when the buying club - Lyon lost tonight with 26 shots and 0 goals - is normally panicking and throwing money around. His replacement was signed months ago in Edouard. Bought for 500k, sold 2 years later for 20m. Expertly done.
I don't know about everyone else but I am sick to death listening to these morons, just because they are fairly good kicking a ball, acting like they are treated like rowers on a slave ship.
The richer footballers are the thicker and more boring they become.
Given the uncompetitive nature of the Scottish Premiership and the paucity of any quality opposition what will this actually mean in reality?
Maybe they will only win the league by 10 points instead of 20 .....
Only reason such players come to Scotland is CL exposure, we need to accept that and not blame him for having personal ambition.
1 Debt Free
2 £30m plus sat in the Bank
3 Going for 8 in a row
4 European Football till Christmas
5 £70m Dafabet Deal Just signed
6 Back to back Trebles
7 Lost 1 domestic game in 2 years
Meanwhile over at the Crumbledome...
But BR has a history of not always speaking the truth and twisting the media focus to his favour.
In this case it seems obvious BR promised something in private and then changed his mind.
Disliked this man at Liverpool. And he's not changed his spots.
Complete fake manager.
You come on a footballing forum constantly refering to child abuse.
For no other reason than you are trolling and are bigoted so wish to put those kaflix in their place.
You are a disgusting individual and have no place In a football forum
Shame on you
"Everyone who considers themselves British " should pay their taxes
If Southampton offer £7m plus adding for a player we bought for £2m and has less than a year left on his contract then this is called a good deal in Football.
Liverpool paid £35m for Andy Carrol.
Celtic paid £650k for Henrik Larsson.
Football economics = Mental
Wish the Jambos could sell a player for that amount!! Have to sell the whole club!!
For that reason his sale to Lyon for circa £20mill is a smart piece of business.