Celtic supporters should ‘love’ the fact that shareholder Dermot Desmond is a lifelong Hoops fan, according to finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley.
The Lowdown: Desmond a lifelong fan
The 71-year-old has been hugely involved at Parkhead since 1995, having also owned part of Manchester United before the Glazer family’s takeover in the 2000s.
Desmond recently stressed that he wouldn’t sell his stake in the club even if he offered ‘three or four times the share price’, such is his love for Celtic.
While billionaires aren’t always universally loved by supporters, Plumley believes the situation is different with Desmond.
The Latest: Expert provides thoughts on billionaire
Speaking to Football Insider, the ‘finance guru’ stressed that the Irishman’s Celtic roots should be something that supporters admire in their shareholders:
“There are good and bad aspects to this. Most fans would argue that it is a good thing to have a genuine supporter of the club in charge.
“Business investment probably takes on a slightly different form as a fan. But the flip side is that if somebody did offer three or four times the share price, they might have the potential to grow the club even further.
“That is a very hypothetical situation, but you can see the good and bad here. However, in general, most fans would love to keep an owner who is passionate and personally invested in the club.”
[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/key-latest-celtic-updates-2/” title=”Key latest Celtic updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]
The Verdict: Makes a fair point
While Plumley’s comments could be divisive due to Desmond not necessarily always pleasing Celtic supporters, he does make a fair point.
If you know you have a fellow fan in charge high up, it instantly suggests that big decisions made will be in the best interests of the club, rather than by billionaires who care more about their wealth.
The Hoops could certainly have worse majority shareholders than Desmond and it could be a case of only fully appreciating him when he eventually moves on.
In other news, Celtic have been backed to seal the signing of one player. Find out who it is here.
