Celtic’s history with Brazilian players has been mixed at best.
The ill-fated signing of Rafael Scheidt during John Barnes’ tenure remains a sore point for many supporters, while Martin O’Neill’s later gamble on Juninho Paulista also failed to deliver the expected impact in Glasgow. Since then, Celtic have largely avoided the Brazilian market, although there have been a few close calls.
In 2019, Fabricio Bruno was openly linked with a move to Parkhead, a saga that eventually led to legal action against his club when the transfer collapsed. Now, another former Brazil international — well known to Premier League fans — has revealed that Celtic once attempted to sign him.
Former Premier League midfielder Sandro Raniere Guimarães Cordeiro, better known simply as Sandro, has confirmed that Celtic showed interest during his time at Tottenham Hotspur. Sandro made more than 100 appearances in the Premier League across three clubs and earned 17 caps for Brazil, including a friendly against Scotland at Hampden Park in 2011. He remains a popular figure among Spurs supporters, where he enjoyed the most prominent spell of his career.
Although he briefly came out of retirement last year to join non-league side Harborough Town, Sandro admits he could have ended up playing in Scotland had circumstances been different. He said he would have relished the intensity of the Old Firm rivalry, describing it as something that suited his combative style.
According to Sandro, Celtic explored the possibility of signing him on loan while he was recovering from injury, believing Tottenham might be open to letting him leave temporarily. However, Spurs ultimately decided against the move, preventing any deal from progressing. Despite that, Sandro said he was aware of the discussions and took time to learn more about Celtic, describing the club as “huge”.
Whether the move would have worked likely depended on the stage of his career at the time, but it remains another example of a Brazilian player who came close to joining the Hoops without the transfer materialising.
In more recent years, Celtic have continued to dip into the South American market with mixed results. Marcelo Saracchi is currently on loan at the club and has made a stronger impression than fellow Uruguayan Diego Laxalt, whose spell proved disappointing. Alexandro Bernabei also struggled to settle during his time in Glasgow.
Saracchi could yet be joined by another South American if Celtic pursue Columbus Crew winger Diego Rossi in January, with head coach Wilfried Nancy reportedly keen on the move.
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