Ex Celtic hero Moussa Dembele revealed title-winning Rangers boss Steven Gerrard is more like a big brother than a manager to him – as he named his Old Firm derby hat-trick as his career highlight to date.
Demeble and Gerrard loved the fierce Glasgow rivalry during their respective stints on opposite ends of the fierce divide and are now gearing up for their own derby in when in Dammam on Saturday when Al Ettifaq battle Al Qadsiah as part of the Roshn Saudi Pro League’s Derby Week.
The 28-year-old Frenchman spent two years at Parkhead before a big money move to Lyon but made a huge impression in the east end of Glasgow, which included a sizzling treble in his first game against the Light Blues. Dembele regularly trolls his old rivals on social media but has huge respect for the man who last won the title as Ibrox boss.
In a Roshn Saudi Pro League interview, he said of Gerrard: “He’s a legend. We’ve all seen him when we were young. For me, it’s a pleasure to work with him every day and be alongside him.
“He is the kind of manager who is listening to every single one of us. He’s trying to improve every day as a manager and make us improve as players – that’s what I like about him. It’s more like a relationship with your big brother rather than a coach but at the end of the day, he’s the gaffer and he makes the decisions – and I just say yes!”
Demeble moved to Celtic from Fulham in a cut-price cross-border move in 2016 under Brendan Rodgers and he said of his switch: “Everything came quick, and I had to decide with my family and friends and make sure I took the right decision for my career. Obviously, if you had told me before that I would play in Scotland then I would have said no! But I think it was one of the best experiences of my life playing for Celtic.
“I enjoyed those two years and I’m still a big fan of Celtic and keep following the club every game. If you’d told me before my journey would be that great, I’d have signed straight away.
“My best memory was scoring three goals against Rangers. There was scoring the winner against St Etienne, scoring two in the quarter-finals (of the Champions League) for Lyon against Manchester City – there’s many of them but if I had to choose one, it would probably be the hat-trick against Rangers.”
The new derby week addition to the Saudi Arabian top flight also sees Al Ittihad, who feature Karim Benzema, face Al Ahli, with Ivan Toney up front, in the Sea Derby in Jeddah on Thursday.
The Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh then plays host to Ronaldo’s Al Nassr versus champions Al Hilal, who have Neymar at No.10, at Al Awwal Park in the Capital Derby in a mouthwatering match up on Friday. Dembele loves starring in the same league as Ronaldo and said: “He’s one of the best players ever, simple. He’s the top scorer ever, so his record speaks for itself. He’s a great player; we all saw him when we were young and now, we are facing him. (The feeling) is just like ‘it’s happening, I’ve made it. Today I’m here facing him’. We all have respect for him and his career but obviously we try and beat him.
“Saudi Arabia has treated me well since the first day I came here. Being outside your country and away from your family, I was alone here at first, it’s hard at the beginning but they made me welcome. They are friendly and want you to feel good in their country; that’s the good thing about it. I’ve really liked my time here and I’m just happy to be here. Before I joined, I knew it was going to be something big because there were players who had joined before me.”