Rodgers: I will only stay at Celtic if they build and invest

Brendan Rodgers has revealed he has started talks to extend his contract with Celtic but will only commit to the Scottish Premiership champions if they are willing to build.

Rodgers has just one year left on his current deal at Celtic, which he has confirmed he will see through to the end even if an extension is not agreed upon.

Celtic stormed to their third consecutive top-flight title in 2024-25, while they also reached the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time since 2013.

The 52-year-old has won 11 major trophies across two spells with the Scottish giants, including two domestic trebles, though European silverware is yet to be achieved.

Rodgers has held talks with majority shareholder Dermot Desmond and chief executive Michael Nicholson about his future.

However, the Northern Irishman wants to see proof of investment in the club before signing a new deal.

“I’ve had talks over the summer with Dermot and Michael and that went well and we’ll take it from there,” Rodgers told Sky Sports News.

“The club will either offer me a deal or they won’t. Either way, until it’s my very last day here, I’ll give absolutely everything and it won’t affect anything.

“I’m very committed here, very focused here in helping us have a really good season.

“We have to be fast, we have to get the ball moving quickly and counter press really well.”

The manager previews Sunday’s season opener at Paradise. #CELSTM | #CelticFC

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) August 1, 2025

“As a Celtic guy, I love my time here. I love the support and everything I’ve had since I’ve been back but there have been challenges.

“My overriding feeling is I want to help the club continue moving forward. I’m not the type of manager to just maintain something, I’m not the right guy to have.

“I need to build, I need to work with players, develop individual players.

“If the club feel that that is something that they want, then I’m pretty sure we’d come to an agreement and if not, we’ll give absolutely everything until the very end here.”

Celtic have added six new faces to their squad ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, headlined by Shin Yamada and the return of Kieran Tierney from Arsenal.

The club are also reportedly close to sealing a loan deal for Manchester City defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, something Rodgers confirmed was edging nearer to completion.

The 19-year-old made six first-team appearances for City last season after featuring against Celtic in a pre-season friendly.

“Obviously, coming through the system there at Manchester City, his profile fits very much what we want from our centre-halves,” Rodgers said.

“He’s quick, he’s dominant, he’s a good defender and of course, at Celtic, your centre-halves need to be able to progress the ball and that’s a big strength of his.

“So we’ve taken him on loan for a year. We always need all our centre-halves at Celtic. We play so many games, so many intense games and he’ll join our squad.

“He’s obviously a little bit behind because he hasn’t played so many games over the course of pre-season but we’ve brought him through for the rest of the season and hopefully we can close that one out.”