MONTREAL – CF Montréal announced on Saturday that Canadian full back Alistair Johnston has been transferred to Celtic FC, the reigning Scottish Premier League champions. The transfer will be effective as of January 1, 2023.
"I want to thank Alistair, the man, for his professionalism and his mentality in everything he has done with the Club, but also the player, who has brought us a lot on and off the pitch, for Montreal and the national team. He's an example of the way we want a player to evolve once he joins our team; with clear ideas, while giving everything for the team,” said Vice President and Chief Sporting Officer Olivier Renard. “When an opportunity with a big club such as Celtic arises, we listen to our player."
“Montreal welcomed me into its family from day one and helped me reach new levels that I didn’t even know I was capable of,” said Alistair Johnston. “I was lucky enough to come into a group with great leadership and talent, and most importantly great people. Although it was only one season together, it was an unforgettable one. It’s not just the records that we broke on the pitch that I’ll remember, but also the connection we built with the entire fanbase over that time. That passion was evident and made playing for this club in front of all of you so special. Thank you.”
Johnston, 24, was acquired from Nashville SC in December 2021, in exchange for $1M in General Allocation Money. In 2022, he scored four goals and added five assists in 33 MLS regular season games, including 30 starts and a total of 2,648 minutes of play. He also played all minutes in the two playoff games, 195 minutes in three Concacaf Champions League matches and the 90 minutes of the Canadian Championship semifinal. At the end of the year, Johnston was named the Club’s Defensive Player of the Year.
In two seasons with Nashville (2020-2021), the Vancouver native played 44 games, including 39 starts, and 3,510 minutes, tallying one goal and two assists.
With Canada at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Johnston played 90 minutes in all three games during the group stage. He has now played a total of 33 games with the senior team, scoring one goal and adding three assists during the qualifying route in Concacaf, where he consolidated his spot as starter in John Herdman’s lineup.
Based in Glasgow, Celtic FC is currently ranked first in the Scottish championship with 14 wins in 15 games.
Transaction : CF Montréal transfers Canadian full back Alistair Johnston to Celtic FC.
