Celtic Get Hassan Under His Clause, Then Lose in Linz

Celtic signed Egypt winger Haissem Hassan from Real Oviedo on 12 August for about £6 million. The fee sits under a £10 million release clause that had already fallen after relegation.

He put pen to a four-year deal with a further option and took the number 23 shirt. Add-ons can lift the package toward £9 million, and part of that extra money was tied to a Champions League league-phase place Martin O’Neill wanted him ready to chase.

Celtic Paid About £6 Million, With Add-Ons to £9 Million

Hassan passed a medical in Britain and completed the move as Celtic’s third major attacking addition of the summer, after Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh. He is the first Egypt international in the club’s men’s first team. O’Neill used the announcement to stress that other clubs had been in the race.

We are delighted to bring Haissem to Celtic and I think the club has done really well to secure a player of such quality, with a number of other clubs interested in him.

Martin O’Neill, Celtic manager, club announcement

Hassan, 24, called it a great moment and a real honour. “When I heard about Celtic being interested in me, I had to get here and be part of the club,” he said. Coverage of the talks said he had already turned down a Saudi offer because he wanted to stay in European football.

THE FEE AGAINST THE CLAUSE

The guaranteed number is the one Oviedo bank. Whether the rest arrives depends on triggers Celtic no longer fully control, including that league-phase clause.

The Clause Dropped When Oviedo Went Down

Hassan spent last season in the Spanish top flight and finished it with three assists and no goals across 38 appearances. He had scored four times in the promotion campaign the year before. Oviedo went down anyway, and a contract clause cut his exit fee from £16 million to £10 million.

That drop, plus a deal running only to June 2027, is why Glasgow thought a bid under the clause would land. An early offer near £3.4 million did not. David Fernandez, hired as sporting director until June 2028, used his unveiling to draw a line under fire-sale talk.

Haissem Hassan is owned by Oviedo. We will have a firm policy for bringing in players and managing departures.

David Fernandez, Real Oviedo sporting director, at his unveiling

He later described both sides as content and put Oviedo’s satisfaction between high and very high. Local reports in Asturias treated the sale as the largest in the club’s history even without the clause being met in full.

Villarreal Still Take 40 Percent of the Profit

The cheque does not stop in Oviedo. Hassan joined the Asturian club from Villarreal in August 2024, and the Yellow Submarine kept 40% of the capital gain on the next sale. That is the Villarreal sell-on that shapes the fee, because add-ons Celtic do or do not trigger change Villarreal’s cut as well as Oviedo’s.

WHO GETS PAID FROM THE MOVE

• Celtic: Pay the guaranteed fee now and any add-ons later, including a slice tied to a Champions League league-phase place they no longer hold.
• Oviedo: Book a club-record outgoing and lose a winger who had one year left, after Fernandez had said he would only leave on their terms.
• Villarreal: Collect 40 percent of Oviedo’s profit, a hangover from selling him two summers earlier rather than keeping him.

The right winger born in Bagnolet had already been around the Villarreal first team, then out on loan at Mirandes and Sporting Gijon, before the Oviedo jump. France got him at youth level. Egypt got the senior player.

What Hassan Did to Argentina in Atlanta

The fee only ballooned after 7 July in Atlanta. Hossam Hassan started him in Egypt’s first World Cup last-16 tie, a 3-2 loss to the holders at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the winger lasted until the 73rd minute. He made the second goal. He also gave away the penalty Lionel Messi then missed.

EGYPT 2, ARGENTINA 3, 7 JULY

1. 15 minutes: Yasser Ibrahim heads Egypt in front from Marwan Attia’s supply.
2. 21 minutes: Hassan brings down Nicolas Tagliafico. Mostafa Shobeir saves Messi’s penalty.
3. 67 minutes: Hassan beats Enzo Fernandez and crosses for Mostafa Zico to make it 2-0.
4. 73 minutes: Trezeguet replaces Hassan.
5. 79 minutes: Cristian Romero pulls one back.
6. 83 minutes: Messi equalises.
7. 90+2 minutes: Enzo Fernandez heads the winner from Lautaro Martinez.

That 3-2 is the tape Celtic’s recruitment sold to supporters. A winger with no La Liga goals had just unpicked Argentina on the right and left Atlanta as a name. The same night also included the foul on Tagliafico. Both things travelled with him to Glasgow.

He Played a Cameo, Then Sat Through Linz

Seven days after the signing, Celtic beat LASK 3-0 at Parkhead in the play-off first leg. Duran scored twice. Hassan came off the bench late, still short of rhythm after the World Cup. The return in Austria was on 25 August. O’Neill left him among the substitutes.

THE PLAY-OFF THAT ATE THE ADD-ONS

• First leg, 19 August: Celtic 3-0 LASK. Hassan is a late substitute as Nygren and Duran put the tie almost out of reach.
• Second leg, 25 August: LASK 5-1 after extra time. Callum McGregor scores on 21 minutes, then Moses Usor, Robert Ljubicic, Samuel Adeniran, Florian Flecker and Adeniran again complete a 5-4 aggregate.
• Hassan’s night: Named among the substitutes and listed as an unused substitute in Linz on the UEFA sheet.

Celtic drop into the Europa League. The league-phase bonus written into Hassan’s package sits on a competition they have already left. Supporters arguing over the tape keep coming back to the same selection point: the winger signed to help win that tie watched it from the bench while a four-goal cushion disappeared.

A Nutmeg and a Low Cross Win It in Perth

The league debut arrived four days after Linz, a 2-1 home win over Falkirk on 29 August. He started, lasted around the hour, and left to a loud ovation. Starts followed against Aberdeen and St Mirren. On 9 September at McDiarmid Park he produced the first Celtic assist, a nutmeg then a low ball that Mika Baur tapped in for a 0-1 win.

https://x.com/CelticFC/status/2097780279238598793

Josh McCafferty called it a tremendous nutmeg before Hassan put the chance on a plate. Ryan McGinlay’s verdict on the same run was blunt: “Haissem Hassan’s just brilliant, isn’t he?” Celtic have six league wins from six. A disallowed effort in Perth left some of the away end convinced another Hassan moment had been wiped off, after VAR stayed with the on-field call when the ball left one camera’s frame.

The player Celtic bought under the clause is now starting in the Premiership and creating winners. The European night that fee was partly built around happened without him. Oviedo have their record sale. Villarreal have their percentage. Hassan has the green and white, and a first assist, in a season that already left the Champions League in Linz.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Did Celtic Pay for Haissem Hassan?

The clubs settled on about £6 million guaranteed, with add-ons that can take the total to £9 million, after Oviedo had already knocked back a bid of about £3.4 million in July. Hassan did his medical in London, then travelled to Glasgow to sign, with registration subject to international clearance.

What Was Hassan’s Release Clause at Real Oviedo?

The clause was £16 million while Oviedo were in La Liga and dropped to £10 million once they went down, a reduction written into the contract rather than a fresh negotiation. Spanish clubs often print a high number and then deal below it, which is what happened here.

Why Does Villarreal Receive Money From the Transfer?

Oviedo bought Hassan from Villarreal for €1.5 million in August 2024 and accepted a clause giving Villarreal 40 percent of the capital gain, not 40 percent of the headline fee. That means the Yellow Submarine’s cheque grows if Celtic’s add-ons are paid and shrinks if they are not.

How Long Is Hassan’s Celtic Contract?

The deal runs to June 2030 on a four-year contract, and Celtic can extend it through June 2031. He will wear 23, and the club announced the move as subject to international clearance on 12 August.

What Happened When Egypt Played Argentina at the World Cup?

Egypt arrived unbeaten and in a first-ever last 16, with Hassan starting in place of Omar Marmoush. Zico had a goal wiped out by VAR before Hassan’s assist made it 2-0, Messi had a penalty saved, and Argentina still came back to win 3-2 in Atlanta on 7 July.