In April 1996, after a lengthy transfer saga, Cadete’s contract was rescinded and he signed for Celtic on a free transfer, in the middle of the 1995-96 campaign. His debut came against Aberdeen at Celtic Park as he came off the bench to score Celtic’s fifth goal in a 5-0 win, thus becoming an instant hit; along with Pierre van Hooijdonk and Paolo Di Canio, he was labelled as one of the “Three Amigos” by club chairman Fergus McCann.
Cadete’s transfer to Celtic turned out to be controversial. Despite being signed prior to the transfer deadline, the Scottish Football Association delayed processing his registration in time for the Scottish Cup semi-finals against Rangers at Hampden Park. Following a complaint from McCann, SFA chief Jim Farry was relieved of his duties after being found guilty of deliberately holding back the player’s registration.
The following season, Cadete’s only full in Scotland, was unarguably the greatest of his career, with the player finishing the year as the country’s top scorer with 33 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions, without the aid of penalty kicks. Despite this, his team lost the league title to Glasgow arch-rivals Rangers; he played his last match against Dundee United, bowing to the Celtic fans before kissing the turf.
Celtic manager Tommy Burns made way for new coach Wim Jansen, and Cadete remained a Celtic player throughout the season. Then, citing mental health issues and a failure to adjust to life in Scotland without his family, he requested a transfer.
