Haitham Hassan became the talk of the world after his brilliance with the Egyptian national team during the matches against Australia and Argentina in the round of 32 and round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
Haitham Hassan did not want to listen to any of the offers presented after the World Cup except for Scottish Celtic, and the Egyptian star revealed that his agent received a flood of offers after the match against Argentina.
Haitham Hassan admitted that his conversation with Celtic coach Martin O'Neill settled his decision about his future, and he said in statements published by the "Herald" network: "I would be lying if I said my phone did not light up with calls, my agents had a lot of work, but I think this is normal".
Haitham added about playing in the World Cup: "Playing one or two matches in the World Cup can change everything, especially against Argentina, but I am convinced that my move to Celtic is the right step and I am very excited to be here, it took some time and perhaps the deal could have been completed earlier, but my focus was entirely on Celtic and I am looking forward to this experience".
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Haitham confirmed: "I wanted this step from the beginning, I was always interested in Celtic and its project, and of course I waited until the deal was completed and matters were settled, the negotiations took longer because Oviedo expected to get a larger financial return due to my participation in the World Cup, but Celtic was interested in signing me even before the World Cup started and this was very important".
Haitham Hassan explained regarding his decision to join Celtic: "That was important, as Celtic showed that they believed in my abilities before the tournament and before everyone saw me on the big world stage, they wanted to sign me in January and that certainly influenced my decision, they were interested in me before everyone else and believed in me based on my performance with Real Oviedo".
Hassan seeks to impress Celtic fans with his talent: "I want to deliver an entertaining and exciting performance, when I was young I watched a lot of video clips of Neymar, Ronaldinho and Robinho, like all Brazilian players and those who put on entertaining show performances, obviously football has become more and more inclined towards the commercial side but in the end it remains a sport, and the player wants to feel the fun and enjoy playing on the pitch and that is exactly what I want, I fully realize that we need to win and deliver a good performance".
Haitham Hassan concluded: "I am fully confident in my abilities to create play and deliver an entertaining performance especially as a winger skilled in dribbling and beating opponents in one-on-one situations, and I recognize the aspects that need improvement, and I know that I need to be more decisive in terms of scoring and creating".
Regarding Celtic, Haitham Hassan said: "Celtic will help me in this aspect as well because of their attacking style of play as they have distinguished players, this is what I want to work on this season, moving from just a player capable of beating opponents individually to a player who actually contributes to scoring and creating".
Haitham Hassan said about his beginnings: "I am from the suburbs of Paris and I started my career like any other child by playing in public parks, one of my teammate's father knew someone who works at Paris FC club, he told my father your son is very talented in football, perhaps you should arrange a trial for him with the club, and during my trial there after one week, I signed a contract with the club and that was the beginning then I joined Châteauroux which has a large academy in France and I made my debut in the second division at the age of 16".
Haitham Hassan continued: "I decided to move to Spain when I turned 18 and joined Villarreal, during that period I played on two loan spells with Sporting Gijón and Mirandés in the second division and joined Oviedo afterwards and promoted with them to the Premier League, I played in La Liga last season and here I am now, in the beginning I was just a boy chasing his dream and doing his best to achieve it".
Haitham admitted: "It was not easy to leave my family at the age of fifteen, then at the age of eighteen but I was convinced it was the right step, I always loved Spanish football and the lifestyle in Spain in general, and it was almost impossible to refuse Villarreal's offer at the age of eighteen and I realized it was a step towards achieving my dream and I decided to move forward, my family is small, consisting of my parents and my brother and they live in Paris".
Haitham Hassan concluded: "They are really happy for me, I have always strived for the top and believed in it, and I was always confident in my abilities".
Celtic are preparing to face Dundee United next Saturday in the round of 16 of the Scottish League Cup.
