Kyogo's Celtic Exit Takes Twist Nobody Saw Coming

Kyogo left Celtic in January to join Ligue 1 side Rennes in a £10 million move. Many people were perplexed by the decision to leave in the middle of the season, without playing in the Champions League knockout phase.

Only a few days after Kyogo joined the club, Jorge Sampaoli was sacked by Rennes and Habib Beye was appointed by the club as his replacement.

Kyogo has had a lacklustre start to his Rennes career. He has struggled for playing time, with only 113 minutes of football and only one start since joining from Celtic and is yet to score for his new team.

The belief was that the change in managers ended up derailing his time at Rennes. But Sampaoli's recent revelations have made his decision to join Rennes even more confusing as it looks like the Argentine manager had nothing to do with Kyogo's signing.

According to The Scottish Sun, the former Rennes boss said: "The sports director decided to make a transfer window that had nothing to do with what we needed.

"We preferred to cut the bridges. I could not represent a team which I had not chosen the players in the winter transfer window.

"We even talked about players who have already played with us to change the story more easily, but we were not listened to."

Kyogo departed Celtic in quest for higher-level football, which would allow him to push for regular inclusion in the Japan national squad, with the 2026 World Cup on the horizon. The striker must now be doubting the decision.

It has been a harsh awakening for the Celtic hero, who's learning that life outside Parkhead is anything but Paradise.

Jota, on the other hand, made a return to Celtic in January and seems to be enjoying life back in Glasgow and has adapted quickly to Brendan Rodgers' team. Maybe the grass is greener there, after all.

Kyogo has only been in France for two months, but there are already rumours that Rennes will look to move on in the summer, which has inevitably led to speculation that he might return to Celtic, just like Kieran Tierney and Jota.