---
title: "Celtic: Danny Mills drops Ryan Christie verdict"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/celtic-danny-mills-drops-ryan-christie-verdict/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Sean Clifford"
section: "Celtic News"
published: "2021-09-06T17:35:27Z"
modified: "2021-09-06T17:35:27Z"
---

# Celtic: Danny Mills drops Ryan Christie verdict

**Danny Mills believes that finances may have been a factor in why Ryan Christie chose to leave Celtic for Bournemouth this summer.**

### The Lowdown: Ryan Christie was an important player for Celtic

The 26-year-old was an important player at Parkhead during his six years with the Hoops, registering 85 goal contributions in 151 games, with 41 goals and 44 assists to his name \[[Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ryan-christie/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/188077)\].

[Six trophies later](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ryan-christie/erfolge/spieler/188077), the Scotland international has recently moved to Bournemouth on an undisclosed fee \[[BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58395792)\], a transfer perhaps made easier due to him being out of contract at Parkhead in January 2022 \[[GIVEMESPORT](https://www.givemesport.com/1681971-celtic-transfers-ryan-christie-out-of-contract-in-january-not-next-summer)\].

Former Manchester City defender Mills has now weighed in with his thoughts on why Christie moved south of the border.

\[freshpress-poll id=”373208″\]

### The Latest: Danny Mills drops his verdict on Christie’s Bournemouth move

Speaking in an exclusive interview with [Football Insider](https://www.footballinsider247.com/mills-this-may-be-real-reason-christie-quit-celtic-for-bournemouth/), the 44-year-old claimed:

“I’m guessing the finances are a lot greater at Bournemouth than they are at Celtic. It was a bizarre situation with his contract being up in January of all times.

“He’ll be delighted. Bournemouth with the parachute payments will still be decent payers.

“It’s a chance for him to get into the Premier League. Is he good enough for the Premier League? Possibly not.

“Now he’s got an opportunity with a decent club under a good young manager to get them back into the Premier League. Look at it in a year’s time and it could be a really good move for him.”

\[freshpress-quiz id=”368506″\]

### The Verdict: Celtic will hope to supplement Christie’s influence with like-minded alternatives

The unusual stipulations surrounding Christie’s contractual situation, which Mills rightly labelled “bizarre”, perhaps made any potential exit easier to complete.

Nevertheless, the [signing](https://thecelticstar.com/celtic-confirm-the-signing-of-portuguese-winger-filipe-jota/) of Benfica winger Filipe Jota will help to soften the blow of the Scot’s departure in the recently-concluded transfer window.

Christie enjoyed a productive 2020/21 campaign for the Celts, picking up six man of the match awards \[[WhoScored](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/128882/History/Ryan-Christie)\]. He also recorded an average of 2.7 shots per game ([second highest](https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/103/Archive/Scotland-Celtic?stageId=19535) after Odsonne Edouard), showing his unwillingness to relent from an attacking perspective.

Moving forward, Ange Postecoglou will be hoping to supplement Christie’s influence with like-minded alternatives within his squad at Parkhead.

***In other news, a Celtic legend has dropped his verdict on a new signing. Find out more [here](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/celtic-news/celtic-kenny-dalglish-drops-cameron-carter-vickers-verdict/).***