Callum McGregor has to know by now that Celtic won’t ever reach their full potential as long as things stay the way they are. That’s been clear for ages, and honestly, it’s part of why he needs to move on this summer.

If Celtic really want to become the club it’s supposed to be, it needs to face up to its awful European record. For twenty years, they’ve been nowhere. The stat gets repeated so much it’s almost boring, but you can’t ignore the fact that they haven’t won a knockout-round tie in any UEFA competition since 2004.

The leadership doesn't even bother to manage expectations anymore. They just try to kill them entirely. Ross Desmond, Dermot’s son, spelt it out at that chaotic AGM last November. He said Celtic’s lack of progress in Europe since the UEFA Cup final in 2003 is down to ‘the enormous change in the financial landscape of football’. Basically, they’re in a smaller league, so backing European campaigns isn’t worth the money.

McGregor’s drive doesn’t sync with the folks running Celtic. When he met with the Celtic Fans Collective before Desmond’s outburst, CEO Michael Nicholson claimed Europe had gone fine recently just because they made the group stage nineteen times out of twenty.

Even Martin O’Neill, who once spoke so passionately about wanting to compete in Europe (because that’s what the club set out to do in 1967), shifted his focus as time went on. By his second stint, after being hammered by Stuttgart in the Europa League play-off, he started complaining about English clubs spending obscene sums and how Celtic couldn’t keep up. No money, no hope, apparently.

No one expects Celtic to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City or Arsenal in the Champions League. That whole argument feels like a smokescreen. Still, with nearly £70 million in the bank and a wage bill over £70 million, you just expect them to do better than folding against the likes of Kairat Almaty, Ferencváros, Cluj, and Sparta Prague reserves.

In McGregor’s midweek appeal for Celtic to match his ambition, he stressed the need for Champions League football and for everyone at the club to commit to playing at the highest level, to strive for ‘the best version of Celtic’. But he must know deep down that it’s not going to happen. The Desmonds are staying put. Nicholson isn’t being kicked out, either. That’s just reality.

Yeah, changes are coming: a new manager (Robbie Keane looks likely), maybe a sporting director, perhaps some new board members or a fresh chairman, but you’d be crazy to think this signals any real overhaul.

Celtic’s leaders haven’t cared about making waves in Europe for two decades. Brendan Rodgers returned in one of the strangest moves lately, but the board never gave him the backing he needed. Ange Postecoglou left as a cult hero, but also the first boss ever dumped out of three European tournaments in one season.

As long as Celtic stayed ahead of Rangers, that was enough. They didn’t even notice Hearts sneaking up.

McGregor hinted at this. He called for accountability and pushed for everyone to try to make Celtic the best they can be. You don’t need Sherlock Holmes to see what he’s getting at, and he’s right.

Trouble is, it feels like it’s too late for him. He should’ve drawn a line in the sand years ago, when he had more power.

Instead, after every humiliating European night, we’d hear him talk about “learning lessons" again and again. But Celtic weren’t paying hefty wages for players to learn that they expected results and didn’t get them.

McGregor turns 33 this summer. Two years left on his contract, but he’s not the player he was. If he leaves, maybe for Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia with Rodgers or somewhere similar, it’s probably not going to shake things up as people expect. The new manager will probably want their own captain anyway.

Really, he could’ve tried for a move back in 2019 after Rodgers left the first time. Maybe gone to Leicester and tested himself in the Premier League as Kieran Tierney did. But he stayed, got caught up in the mess as the ten-in-a-row dream died during that disastrous Covid season. That could’ve been the moment to lay down the law or threaten to leave.

Even when rumours about Saudi Arabia heated up in January, he seemed to disappear for a bit. Maybe he wanted to see what Celtic would do in the transfer window. Joel Mvuka, Junior Adamu, and Tomas Cvancara on loan surely weren't what he’d hoped for.

If we’re honest, McGregor’s shot at the top levels of club football is gone. He’s not heading to the Premier League now, and Celtic aren’t about to crack Europe. Saudi’s probably his best option; it would at least set him up for life.

He’s got a Scottish Cup final coming. That’s as good a swan song as you can get. And somehow, Celtic are still in the hunt for the league title.

If McGregor means what he’s said, there’s no way he fits with the club’s leadership anymore.

Really, it’s just a shame he didn’t stand up and call out the board sooner. He’s been an excellent, smart footballer, but he never really pushed himself beyond Celtic, a club whose lack of focus has landed them right where they are now.

Al Nassr, one of Saudi Arabia’s top football clubs, might be planning something extraordinary: promoting Cristiano Ronaldo's son to the senior team next season. If they pull it off, we could see the father and son playing together, which would honestly be a pretty wild moment for football fans.

Ronaldo Jr. is only 15, but he’s already making waves in Al Nassr’s youth teams. He’s spent time with elite academies around the globe, following his dad’s footsteps from Real Madrid to Juventus to Manchester United and now to Saudi Arabia. Clearly, the club sees something special in him. A promotion at this age would show they trust his abilities and think he’s not just physically ready but technically sharp enough to handle the big stage.

Cristiano Ronaldo himself is still the main man at Al Nassr, even at 41, and you can tell he’d love nothing more than to share the field with his son. It’s been a dream of his for years. The club wants to see how Ronaldo Jr. finishes the season before officially making a decision, but the buzz is real.

If Ronaldo Jr. gets his shot, imagine the story: assisting his dad, who’s chasing that impossible 1,000-goal mark. That’s the kind of fairy tale moment people remember forever.

The hype isn’t just talk, either. The numbers back it up. Ronaldo Jr. scored 58 goals in just 23 games with Juventus’ U-9 team, and he’s kept his scoring streak alive in Saudi Arabia, notching 56 goals in 27 matches for Al Nassr’s U-15s. The kid clearly inherited his father’s scoring instinct.

Moving up to the senior squad would be a huge jump, though. The Saudi Pro League is tough, both physically and competitively. He’d have to be ready.

Speaking of milestones, Ronaldo himself keeps stacking them up. He just scored his 969th career goal, leading Al Nassr to a 4-0 win over Al Wasl in the AFC Champions League Two quarterfinals. The team looked in control from the start, dominating every part of the match, and Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 11th minute. That 1,000-goal milestone is getting closer, and maybe just maybe his son will be there on the pitch to help him get there.