The former Ibrox forward could have joined Celtic on two occasions, but they chose to sign someone else.
Billy Dodds stated he was asked to join Celtic twice before joining Rangers.
During the 1998/99 season, the striker was a standout for Dundee United, attracting attention from both the Hoops and rivals. Dodds had just turned 30 and was a veteran of the game, although a prolific one in Scottish football. After losing Henrik Larsson to injury, the Celts were looking for a temporary substitute for their King of Kings.
That’s when they turned to Dodds, with then-manager John Barnes considering both him and Arsenal icon Ian Wright. Although the Englishman was chosen, Dodds expressed his desire to join Parkhead if the opportunity arose.
Even if he was an ardent Ibrox supporter. “As a wee boy, your dream is to play at a big club and for Scotland,” he told the Mail. “My boyhood heroes were Rangers, but I almost joined for Celtic twice. They had Larsson out injured, so it was between me or Ian Wright—and they chose him!”
On his move to Rangers that year, Dodds said that Celtic had pondered pursuing him again.
“There was another instance when Celtic expressed an interest in recruiting me. If they had gone ahead with it, I would have jumped at the opportunity. However, as soon as Michael Mols was hurt, the Rangers made their move. It happened unexpectedly, and it was strange how things turned out.
“It was obviously later on in my career, it was my last chance to get financial security and my last chance to play for a huge club, so I was desperate for it to happen, as you can imagine.”
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