Celtic were founded on 6 November 1887 and remain rooted at Celtic Park, the place around which most of the club’s modern story still turns. The affection is earned rather than ornamental: this is a club built on sustained domestic authority, heavy expectation and a support that has never treated success as a novelty.
The 2025/26 Premiership title followed the 2024/25 league and League Cup wins, with further Premiership titles in 2022/23 and 2021/22. Their wider honours record includes 16 Premiership titles, eight Scottish Cups and eight League Cups – a measure of a club for whom winning is not background noise, but the standard by which each season is judged.
Last season’s league finish carried the familiar signs of control. Celtic’s last six listed league matches were all wins, including 3-1 at home to Hearts, 3-1 at home to Rangers and 2-3 away to Motherwell. At Celtic Park they averaged 2.3 goals scored and 0.8 conceded per match, while the away figures – 1.6 scored and 1.4 conceded – pointed to a side still dangerous on the road, if less insulated from damage.
The attacking burden was shared with some weight. Benjamin Nygren scored 21 goals, Daizen Maeda 17, Hyun-jun Yang 10, with Kelechi Ịheanachọ on nine and Arne Engels on seven. Celtic also struck first inside 20 minutes in six of 18 league matches, a useful reminder that their best work often came before opponents had settled into the argument.
The squad is valued at around £108m by Transfermarkt, with 38 players and an average age of 26. As the 2026-27 pre-season begins, Celtic do so as defending Premiership champions, with the Premiership and Champions League qualifying play-off stage shaping the immediate context.
