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It takes a brave individual to play for both Celtic and Rangers
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Only a handful of players have crossed the Old Firm divide
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Here are the 10 best players to play for Celtic and Rangers
Celtic and Rangers attract the vast majority of football betting online attention in Scotland.
They have dominated the league over the last few decades, winning every single top flight title since 1985. They have combined to be named Scottish champions 106 times, making them two of the most successful clubs in the world.
It is one of football’s biggest rivalries, based on so much more than football and geography. Celtic and Rangers are a part of Scottish culture well beyond their four league meetings per season.
Tempers have flared on and off the field. The Old Firm is a fixture watched across the world, competing with the Superclásico and Derby of the Eternal Enemies for the title of fiercest footballing rivalry.
Only a few have dared to switch Old Firm allegiances. Here are 10 who have represented both Celtic and Rangers.
Mark Brown
A Rangers academy graduate, Mark Brown made just a handful of appearances for the Ibrox club before joining Motherwell.
Brown signed with Celtic in 2006. He was no more than a backup at the club, but won two league titles despite playing only 14 times across three seasons.
Lewis Morgan
In the Rangers academy from 2004 to 2013, Lewis Morgan never made the breakthrough to the Gers’ first team. Instead, Morgan joined St Mirren and begun to build a reputation at the club.
His performances impressed sufficiently to attract Celtic, who signed him in 2018 with a loan back to St Mirren until the end of the campaign.
While Morgan never really became a regular at Celtic, he has gone on to enjoy success in MLS with Inter Miami and New York Red Bulls.
Mo Johnston
Starting out with Partick Thistle and Watford, Mo Johnston had made a name for himself when he joined Celtic in the mid-1980s.
Johnston then moved to Nantes. Despite claiming he would never return to Scotland and then hinting at a return to Celtic, he signed with Rangers in 1989.
This was perhaps the most controversial transfer in Rangers’ history. Johnston was considered their first major Roman Catholic signing, leading to furious fans on both sides of the rivalry.
A lot of the bad feeling dissipated when Johnston scored a late winner against Celtic in November of that year.
Alfie Conn Jr
The first player after the Second World War to play for Rangers and Celtic, Kirkcaldy-born Alfie Conn started out at Rangers and ended up at Celtic via Tottenham.
Conn played a part as Rangers won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1972 and the Scottish Cup the following year.
He became a fan favourite with Tottenham, winning his only two international caps while playing for the north London club, before winning another Scottish Cup in 1977 as Celtic beat Rangers in the final.
When he left Celtic in 1979, Conn became a true journeyman, enjoying spells in the United States and England before hanging up his boots in 1984.
Steven Pressley
Steven Pressley had a lengthy playing career with his Old Firm experiences bookending his peak years. Starting out at Rangers, Pressley made just 34 appearances for the club before longer spells with Dundee United and Hearts.
He was back in Glasgow with Celtic by 2006, and won the 2006-07 title, but Pressley’s role had clearly diminished by this point. Released by Celtic in 2008, he signed with Randers on a short-term pact.
Kenny Miller
One of the Celtic vs Rangers top scorers, Kenny Miller had three stints with Rangers and a season with Celtic in a career which took him from Vancouver to Bursa.
A four-time Scottish Premiership winner, Miller even won a Golden Boot in 2010-11 at the end of his second spell with Rangers. He’s also got the distinction of being the first player to score Champions League goals for both Celtic and Rangers.
Barry Robson
Never making it to the first team despite several years in the Rangers academy, Barry Robson featured in live betting for Inverness, Forfar and Dundee United before signing with Celtic in 2008.
He spent a couple of years with the Bhoys, winning the 2007-08 title. Robson moved on to Middlesbrough, Vancouver and Sheffield United. He finished off his career with Aberdeen, and amassed 17 caps for Scotland.
Craig Beattie
Released from the Rangers academy by Dick Advocaat, Craig Beattie moved to Celtic where he established a place in the first team squad.
Debuting in 2003, Beattie remained at Celtic until 2007. He scored 16 times in 65 appearances, winning three league titles and two Scottish Cups in the process.
Tully Craig
Tully Craig played all over the pitch. While predominantly remembered as a left half, Craig operated anywhere from defence to attack in a career which started in the 1910s and was wrapped up just a few years before the Second World War.
Craig arrived at Celtic in 1919 from Grange Rovers, though he played just eight times for the club before being sent in a swap deal with Alloa Athletic.
Impressing for The Wasps, Craig was signed by Rangers after just a year for £750. He went on to play a pivotal role in seven league title-winning campaigns with Rangers, and won eight Scotland caps between 1927 and 1930.
Greg Taylor
Current Scotland international and Celtic utility man Greg Taylor is one of several on this list who were in the academy of one Old Firm team and ended up playing for the other.
Rangers rejected Taylor as a youth player, citing his small, slight frame. He ended up at Kilmarnock and impressed sufficiently that Celtic signed him in 2019.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 31st March 2022
