Kyogo Furuhashi Hints At Real Reason He Quit Celtic

Kyogo leaving in the middle of the season to join Rennes was a blow for Celtic. They did not even end up signing a replacement for him in the winter transfer window.

It remains to be seen how the Hoops fare in the second half of the campaign without their Japanese superstar.

Adam Idah is now the club's first-choice striker despite his struggles in front of goal in the first half of the season. Johnny Kenny and Daniel Cummings are the back up options, with Daizen Maeda also capable of playing there.

The timing of Kyogo's exit was certainly curious. After years of trying, he finally was able to help Celtic get into the knockout phase of the Champions League only to depart without taking part in it.

Unfortunately, despite all the success he has enjoyed at Celtic, Kyogo was never able to establish himself in the Japanese national team over his time at Parkhead.

He was left out of the World Cup 2022 squad and it looks like the desire to play in the next one is what played a major part in Kyogo deciding to leave Celtic to play at the Ligue 1 level.

According to the Daily Record, Kyogo said to his homeland media: "I think that if I can prove my strength here in France by playing every week I will be called up by the national team again and I will be able to show a different side of myself.

""I cannot claim to be called up with certainty, but if he can demonstrate my ability at Rennes, it definitely adds to my chances. I just want to make an impact here and create chances for my teammates. I'm very pleased we won in my opening game. There are a lot of players in France with very high technical abilities and I know I will challenge myself every day."

Kyogo cannot be blamed for wanting to play in the World Cup. That is the hope and dream of almost every player. At 30 years old, he will know that the next one might very well be his last chance.

Unfortunately, it looks like he felt that he needed to leave Celtic in order to achieve that goal. His lack of national team chances over the years despite the amount of goals he scored for the Hoops does back that thought process.