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Fullname: Victor Mugabe Wanyama
aka: Victor Wanyama
Born: 25 June 1991
Birthplace: Nairobi, Kenya
Signed: 30 June 2011 (from Beerschot AC (Belgium) for £900,000)
Left: 11 July 2013 (to Southampton for est £12.5m)
Position: Midfielder (defensive), centre-half
Debut: Celtic 0-2 Wolves, 27th July 2011 (friendly)
Debut (competitive): Celtic 0-1 St Johnstone, League, 21 Aug 2011
Squad No.: 67
Internationals: Kenya
International Caps: 64
International Goals: 7
Biog
“What I’ve experienced there, you can’t have that anywhere. You need to be at a place like Celtic Park to experience nights like that.”
Victory Wanyama (2022)
Victor Wanyama arrived at Celtic as an unknown commodity. The first team had been lumbering in past seasons from bringing in ‘men of steel’ who were supposed to give the side some gravitas and instil some fear into the opposition rather than fearing ourselves. Yet, recent past acquisitions (including Gravesen and Majstorevic) had achieved little and proved nothing.
Not since Balde & Mjalby under Martin O’Neill, did the Celtic first team have a player who could provide the side with a strong imposing style that would give the first team at Celtic an edge. Players like Scott Brown could only do this to an extent. Wanyama was to change this and became a bit of a sensation. Ironically, across many teams in Europe, sides & coaches were choosing players in the opposite direction (such as Barcelona who had a team small in height but not in stature), but you can’t go wrong with having strength in your side.
Hitting the ground running, Wanyama came into the Celtic squad which was already overburdened with midfielders with some wondering why he was bought. Joe Ledley was the primary defensive midfielder and so Wanyama was maybe a squad player. The first team was underperforming in his early days and this gave room for Wanyama to enter the fray, however the arrival of this big burly chap was met with little fanfare. Not exactly widely known, he was hoped to add some defensive steel into the midfield that Celtic otherwise lacked. Despite his supposed youthful age he set about his role with some gusto and settled in fast enough, and we’d found out that we’d bagged a great strong player. It was a welcome surprise.
Opinions changed fast and a succession of deft performances made him a popular figure. Strong, commanding and controlled he made his name a cert on the first team list and an increasing favourite of the support. Notably, due to the continuing woes of the central defence and the continuing injury issues, Wanyama was forced to move from holding midfield to centre-half. Not his best role but he more than adequately made the move when needed, but in Dec 2011 he scored his first goal, a screamer of a goal v Hearts which set up the victory and got the First Team out of jail. From then on in, there was nobody who was questioning his place in the side.
From early on he commandeered the midfield and gave the rest of the players space to freely move and play their own game. Strong in the tackles, he was wholly committed and gave his all. Generally an intelligent player, he’d be able to make the passes to put players through without needless gambles. In attack, he was difficult to defend against at set pieces due to his frame, and he able to head a shot as hard as some others could kick them. He was also unafraid to put his laces through the ball from long range, and with his strength he had a powerful shot. Not always the most accurate but more often than not he’d grab a number of goals with a thunderous shot. He had an ironhead as well able to bullet headers in with ease, and he scored more than a few like this.
With his strong defensive abilities, on occasion he’d also drop back into the centre half positions and play the game from there, and it was a measure of his ability that he was able to slot in there with ease. His best role though was as a defensive/holding midfielder which allowed a greater of his range of skills to come to the fore, and allowed him to push forward as well so threatening the opposition’s defence as much as throttling their attack & midfield.
As a measure of his value, he was awarded the SPL Young Player of the Year for 2012–13.
If there was a recurring problem it was that despite his good points, he was very much still a rough diamond. Daft needless challenges led to needless fouls, loss of possession and yellow cards, and the First Team even lost him from matches due to needless suspensions. On occasion his habit to try to be a Beckenbauer led to counter possession by the opposition and lost goals. A boot up the pitch is unsophisticated but sometimes just do it and it can all be discussed later.
Domestic plaudits were never going to be sufficient and the big stage on the European front saw him catapulted to the forefront. Despite a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League, he was one of the standouts in the game, commanding the centre of the midfield and the ‘hole’ behind it. Barmy criticism by one commentator tried to pin the first goal lost to him, but that was laughed off by the rest. Transfer speculation was mounting and Lennon slapped on a £25m tag. Some guffaws at this and then came the 2-1 victory against Barcelona. He was simply peerless. He scored the opener with a bullet header from a corner, and again he ruled that midfield with a great performance. People must realize that this Barcelona side were rated one of the greatest ever, and he’d overshadowed their entire midfield in consecutive matches (proving it was no one-off fluke). He had become the talk of the town across the football world, and parties were interested from all over.
The year 2012 truly was his and there was just no denying that fact. Storming and commanding, he was a bulwark in the midfield. His size gave the midfield the weight it required to take control of the game but he had even more to his game than just brute strength. With the increasing philosophy of packed out midfields and lesser reliance on strikers, any advantage in the midfield is vital. He even won a place in the Guardian newspaper’s top 100 players in the world (at no. 81), and so highly regarded World Soccer magazine put him on their front cover in Feb 2013 as one of the Champions League’s top emerging talent.
For the 2012/13 Champions League final, the official program listed him as one of the top six young talents in the competition. That was some accolade.
One of the great knock on effects was the pride taken in Wanyama by his fellow countrymen back in Kenya. Watching pictures of family and friends bedecked in the Hoops was reflected further with their press and even politicians following suit. Sadly, the hope of some of them was that he would move to one of the current giant sides in the premier leagues, but that didn’t stop them supporting Celtic to the hilt. There was a pride and hope he’d achieve success and prestige to give Kenya some recognised achievement in world football. It mattered so much to them and they reflected it with many proudly wearing Celtic tops and cheering on the team.
Problem is that all those plaudits meant that he was on the radar for many agents and clubs, but despite the wealth down south and abroad, the major clubs became apprehensive to jump in and take him on (to the surprise of many). In July 2013, he signed for Southampton which many who have seen him would say was underselling himself. Fine he would be playing in the EPL for more money, but not now in the Champions League (or close to it) and not for titles either. His best came when the challenge was on which was why he came to Celtic and succeeded at the club.
Saying all that, he was the first player from the SPL to leave for a 8 figure sum, signing for an estimated £12.5m (although McGeady’s transfer fee in total possibly did total around an estimated 8 figures after all the addons). Far less than the £25m mooted at one point but still very good value. We’d wished Celtic could have kept him for longer.
Post-Celtic
His move to Southampton was a success, and on the back of which he was transferred to Tottenham for £11m. However, his time at Tottenham was hampered by knee injuries after a great first season, and he was not to play in the side when Tottenham made the Champions League final against Liverpool in 2019 (which included ex-Celt Virgil van Dijk). However he had played in the vital 3-2 victory over Ajax in the semi-finals.
There were attempts to bring him back to Celtic in 2020, but it didn’t work out (mostly due to financial reasons), and frustratingly he moved to Canada to play in the burgeoning MLS. However, curiously soon he was to say in an interview:
“I want to play for Celtic again before I finish. I have unfinished business there. I love that club….We really believed that we could achieve anything there, and we did. We beat Barcelona 2-1.” (Apr 2020)
It definitely wetted the appetite of many, as he still had many admirers within Celtic. As Celtic’s challenge for ten in a row collapsed ignominiously in 2020/21, the support was left to wonder what if? He later gave a good review to Canadian defender Alistair Johnston that paved his way to joining Celtic.
He spent a number of years at Montreal,
[….]
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2011-2012 | 29 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 42 |
| Goals | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2012-2013 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 49 |
| Goals | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Total Appearances | 61 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 91 |
| Total Goals | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
| Statistics |
|||||||||||
| 2012/13 | |||||||||||
| TEAM | Competition | GS | SB | G | A | SH | SG | FC | FS | YC | RC |
| League Cup | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| SPL | 31 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 53 | 17 | 53 | 38 | 9 | 1 | |
| Scottish Cup | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| European Cup | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 44 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 61 | 20 | 68 | 48 | 14 | 1 | |
| 2011/12 | |||||||||||
| TEAM | Competition | GS | SB | G | A | SH | SG | FC | FS | YC | RC |
| UEFA Cup | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| Scottish Cup | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| SPL | 24 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 6 | 40 | 36 | 2 | 1 | |
| League Cup | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 6 | 49 | 40 | 3 | 1 |
GS: Games Started, SB: Used as Substitute,
G: Goals, A: Assists, SH: Shots, SG: Shots on goal,
YC: Yellow Cards, RC: Red Cards, FC: Fouls Committed, FS: Fouls Suffered,
SV: Saves, OF: Offsides,
W: Wins, D: Draws, L: Losses
Honours with Celtic
Scottish Premier League
Scottish Cup
Pictures
KDS
Quotes
“The feeling I got after the goal against Barcelona was just unbelievable! I’ve never felt anything like that in my life. It was better than sex. We didn’t celebrate the win in any particular way. I drank an orange juice, that was quite enough.”
Wanyama to the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad after the 2-1 victory v Barcelona (he scored a goal) (Nov 2012)
“I made the right decision to join Celtic. They are a family club, where I can develop in the best way. I’m happy at Celtic.”
Victor Wanyama (Nov 2012)
“My biggest influence was the gaffer, Neil Lennon. He drove me to have more hunger and desire and to never give up.”
Victor Wanyama (2017)
“I want to play for Celtic again before I finish. I have unfinished business there. I love that club….We really believed that we could achieve anything there, and we did. We beat Barcelona 2-1.”
Victor Wanyama (Apr 2020)
“Victor is one who has definitely been in my ear about it. He had glowing reviews for the club. He was one of the ones who said to me, ‘Look, if you get an opportunity and something comes up at Celtic, you have to take it’. Vic says it’s the biggest club he had ever played for and he has played for some big clubs in Spurs and Southampton, so that was a pretty glowing recommendation. I got a glowing review from Victor and I have done a lot of my own research. Victor has done a lot of research for me as well, to be fair he’s the best agent Celtic could have.”
Pre-Transfer Alistair Johnstone on Wanyama (2022)
Articles
Warm welcome from “The Sun” (sic!) July 2011
Kenya’s Victor Wanyama has a taste for victory with Celtic
Kenya’s Victor Wanyama has a taste for victory with Celtic
Andy Mitten
“Chicken,” Glasgow Celtic’s Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama says with a laugh.
“I’m addicted to chicken. I have it twice a day, sometimes more. Kenyan chicken, Scottish chicken, it doesn’t matter. Something’s not right in my life if I don’t eat chicken. I’ve tried to hide the fact that I eat so much chicken at Celtic, but people are starting to realise. But I don’t worry, chicken is good for you.”
The only worry Celtic fans have about the increasingly impressive 21 year old, who scored twice in Saturday’s 5-0 win at St Mirren, is that he will leave their club.
Vultures have been circling around the chicken enthusiast. Queens Park Rangers had their £6.5 million (Dh38.3m) – plus 20 per cent sell-on fee – turned down in August.
Celtic last week offered Wanyama an improved contract to take him beyond his current one, which ends in 2014. They want to tie him down to prevent him fleeing the roost.
“I want to play at the best level I can,” he says.
“That’s normal for every footballer. But I’m very happy at Celtic and I’m loving playing in the Champions League.”
Signing for QPR may have meant the perceived glamour of the Premier League and games against Manchester United and Arsenal rather than Ross County or Inverness, but staying at Celtic means he plays in front of three times as many fans as at Loftus Road.
Plus, in the Champions League Celtic are the unlikely second placed team in Group G after drawing at home against Benfica and beating Spartak Moscow away.
Barcelona are the group leaders and the pair meet in Camp Nou tonight, where Wanyama’s many suitors will be watching how he does against the Catalans.
“We’re very happy with our form,” the Kenyan says.
“We’re working hard in the hardest league to play in the world, the Champions League. And we travel to Barcelona confident that we can avoid losing.
“We’ll play as we always play and that’s to win. We went to Moscow to win and we’ll go to Barcelona to win.
“We’ll travel with confidence and we’ll travel with a huge support. We won’t travel to defend.”
Barca are not impenetrable at home. Spartak scored twice in the opening Group G game and were within 19 minutes of victory before Lionel Messi scored two to improve their 17-game unbeaten European home run, one that 4,900 travelling Celtic supporters hope will end tonight.
“They have players who can change games,” Wanyama says.
“I look at Messi – and also Cristiano Ronaldo – as players who improve year on year.
“That’s what I want to do. In the midfield, [Andres] Iniesta and Xavi are two players I really admire, then there’s Xabi Alonso and Yaya Toure at Madrid and Manchester City. Yaya is the best African player, he’s so strong and has great ability to run with the ball at speed.”
Wanyama’s journey from Nairobi, where he played in Kenya’s 2-1 friendly defeat to South Africa last week, to Glasgow has not been straightforward, and begins with his brother, McDonald Mariga Wanyama, who is currently on loan to Parma from Inter Milan.
“I left Kenya at 16 to see my brother, who played at Helsingborg in Sweden. He was my idol and still is, he really helped me.
“I played there for six months as a youth player. The facilities were much better than in Kenya and it was the summer there so it wasn’t so cold.”
He returned to Kenya when his brother left for Parma. Then the younger brother was offered a trial with Beerschot in Antwerp, Belgium.
“On my first day I couldn’t believe how cold it was. I ran back into the changing room and the coach asked what was wrong. I told him that it was freezing, that I’m from a country on the equator where I play football in 38° heat.
“I’d never played when it was 15°, let alone zero. The coach laughed and told me I had to get used to it. He gave me some gloves and a hat.
“It was still cold, so I put a second pair of gloves on and a coat. Then I didn’t stop running because it was too cold when I stopped. The coach liked that.”
He liked Wanyama enough to offer a contract, too. But life was tough for a 17-year-old boy far from home.
“Nobody spoke English,” he says. “So I felt a little lost. I was speaking with my hands.
“If I wanted chicken then I had to pretend to be a chicken. It worked. People understood.”
Wanyama got his poultry fix and started to settle. He was raw, but already an international footballer, having made his Kenya debut at the age of 15.
“It was just a few minutes, but I did well,” he says.
Kenya have never qualified for the World Cup finals and have not played in the biannual African Cup of Nations since 2004.
The country was suspended by Fifa, citing government interference in the national side, in 2004 and again in 2006 and are currently ranked a paltry 128th in the world, 12 places behind the UAE.
“We had our problems with football in Kenya, but we’re getting better,” Wanyama says. “If I’d stayed in Kenya I’d be a very different player and it’s the same for other players. We now have players in Belgium, France, Israel and Norway.
“The domestic league is improving too. Our aim, which I think is realistic, is to reach the finals [of the Cup of Nations].”
Football is becoming more popular in the East African country of 41 million. He concedes that Kenya is known for distance runners, and he says he considers David Rudisha, a compatriot who hold the world and Olympic record in the 800 metres, a friend.
“We’re all very proud of our runners … but Kenyans love football too. The leagues in Italy, Spain and England are popular on television, but I prefer to support the local teams and my brothers who play for them.
“There can be more than 25,000 for a derby game in Nairobi between my old club AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia.
“It is like Celtic and Rangers.”
Wanyama joined Celtic from Beerschot for £900,000 in 2011 and has played in Scotland’s “Old Firm” game several times.
“I enjoyed it,” he says, “and it’s strange with Rangers not being around, but we have many games to concentrate on.
“We did well to reach the Champions League after beating my old club Helsingborg. Our manager, Neil Lennon, loves football and loves winning.
“Even in training, he always wants to win, win, win. He always wants 100 per cent from you, which helps you improve. I can see that he was a good player.”
Wanyama, who wears number 67 to honour Celtic’s 1967 European Cup winning side, is praised for his strength, tackling, passing and calmness in the heart of the team.
“I’ll always give my best. I’ll stay focused, hopefully keep on improving. I’m still young and have time to learn, but I feel like I’m getting better all the time.”
The Celtic fans, some of the younger ones who have recorded: “Give me goals, Wanyama, in the Champions League” to the tune of Eddy Grant’s Gimme Hope Jo’anna will agree.
“There’s a player we call big Victor,” goes the song, “he runs the midfield and the Celtic defence. But the best thing about our Victor is, his goalscoring is becoming immense.”
Goals may be a tall order in Camp Nou tonight, but the Kenyan knows those fans will be behind him.
“No matter what happens in Barcelona, they will not believe the incredible atmosphere when they play in Glasgow,” he says.
He will be up for that one in two weeks.
After some chicken, of course.
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Forza Victor – Wanyama, Celtic and the view from Kenya
http://republicfootball.net/forza-victor-wanyama-celtic-and-the-view-from-kenya/
Feb 2013
By Republic of Football
Celtic Players Victor Wanyama
Forza Victor – Wanyama, Celtic and the view from Kenya
As part of the build up to Celtic’s do-or-die return tie in Turin we invited Collins Okinyo, Kenyan football journalist and close friend of Victor Wanyama, to share his thoughts on Celtic from a Kenyan point of view.
I am both delighted and anxious as Celtic prepare to clash with Juventus in what should definitely be a ding-dong battle despite the latter’s first leg 3-0 win.
The Celtic team has seen a remarkable turnaround this season that has not only excited fans in Glasgow but in every part of the world and even where I am in Kenya where every game is passionately followed to the end.
Celtic have found their place among the top teams in the world as the stats will show but the most important statistic for the passionate Celtic fans is that the team has finally found the players that can ignite their hopes in reclaiming the league and contending in the Uefa Champions League.
As a Kenyan football fan and African football journalist I first fell in love with Celtic years back long before our own bhoy and hero Victor Wanyama joined the team last season an event in itself made headline news in the country and throughout Africa.
Wanyama’s humility and down-to-earth attitude is evidence of his real talent, talent that I first saw in his days playing for Nairobi City Stars. I believe he is one of the key players that have helped Celtic in their vital transition and European renaissance. Instead of relying upon a more direct approach, Celtic now often play with poise and delicacy.
At the heart of the transformation has been Victor Wanyama who has ensured every team in the Premier League are on the hunt to sign him. Needless to say the fans at Celtic love Wanyama and he has often been the creative hub through which the tempo and a lot of the team’s attacking force are channeled.
Players of this type are premium commodities but Wanyama’s heart and spirit has been at Celtic where he has managed to prove himself to all.
I love the fact that Wanyama acknowledges Celtic showed trust in him, plucking from Belgian side Germinal Beerschot and at one time Victor told me that he loves the club so much he decided to take 67 as his squad number to honour the club’s great history.
In the height of the many rumours of interest from Manchester United and Arsenal, Victor told me: ‘I just want to concentrate on my football at Celtic and all these transfer rumours will not distract me at all.’ Those were words of a player committed to his team.
I vividly remember two months ago when I got a message from Wanyama telling me he was coming to Kenya to visit his family and that he had a very precious gift for me that was coveted Celtic jerseys for me and my son Prince John Essien that was one of my happiest days and I wear the strip with a lot of pride and respect.
Some Celtic fans have done one better than that and recently travelled all the way to Nairobi to do charity work in the sprawling Kibera slums in the heart of the city. This is a commendable move and shows what the club and its supporters around the world have a unique and long-lasting bond.
Wanyama has not only made his family who are also ardent Celtic fans proud but all Kenyans are excited and Victor Wanyama has become a big name throughout Africa because of his outstanding performances for Celtic. Yes we all agree that any player’s dream is to make it big, but I believe Victor has still a lot to offer Celtic who have never shied away from signing African players.
Collins Okinyo
2019
‘I have unfinished business’ – Victor Wanyama wants Celtic return
The Kenyan left Spurs for MLS earlier this year
By Joel Sked
Tuesday, 14th April 2020, 1:19 pm
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/i-have-unfinished-business-victor-wanyama-wants-celtic-return-2538058
Victor Wanyama has revealed he wants to return to Celtic before his playing career is finished.
The Kenyan has declared that he has “unfinished business” at Parkhead.
The 28-year-old had been linked with a move back to Celtic last summer and this January. Neil Lennon went on record saying it was a transfer he would have liked to have completed but it “never get off the ground”.
Celtic: Get the latest team news, match previews and reports
Victor Wanyama wants a Celtic return. Picture: SNS
Victor Wanyama wants a Celtic return. Picture: SNS Copyright: Other 3rd Party
Instead Wanyama, who had fallen out of favour at Tottenham Hotspur, moved to Montreal Impact on a free transfer in March to play under Thierry Henry.
The midfielder, who left Celtic for Southampton in 2013 for £12.5million after being nurtured at the club, is still keen to move back to Celtic where he won two league titles and a Scottish Cup.
He told The Athletic: “They need to let you grow and achieve what you want. But I want to play for Celtic again before I finish. I have unfinished business there. I love that club.”
Wanyama was part of the team which beat Barcelona in 2012 with the player opening the scoring, and he recalled one of Neil Lennon’s biggest attributes as manager.
He said: “We watched Celtic v Rangers in Kenya and I always supported Celtic — when I arrived there I chose the number 67 shirt.
“Celtic had not played much in the Champions League when I arrived. I wanted to help try and make them great again in Europe, like they were in 1967. We really believed that we could achieve anything there, and we did. We beat Barcelona 2-1.
“Neil Lennon told us that we could win and he was right. He was a brilliant motivator.” ‘I have unfinished business’ – Victor Wanyama wants Celtic return
The Kenyan left Spurs for MLS earlier this year
By Joel Sked
Tuesday, 14th April 2020, 1:19 pm
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/i-have-unfinished-business-victor-wanyama-wants-celtic-return-2538058
Victor Wanyama has revealed he wants to return to Celtic before his playing career is finished.
The Kenyan has declared that he has “unfinished business” at Parkhead.
The 28-year-old had been linked with a move back to Celtic last summer and this January. Neil Lennon went on record saying it was a transfer he would have liked to have completed but it “never get off the ground”.
Celtic: Get the latest team news, match previews and reports
Instead Wanyama, who had fallen out of favour at Tottenham Hotspur, moved to Montreal Impact on a free transfer in March to play under Thierry Henry.
The midfielder, who left Celtic for Southampton in 2013 for £12.5million after being nurtured at the club, is still keen to move back to Celtic where he won two league titles and a Scottish Cup.
He told The Athletic: “They need to let you grow and achieve what you want. But I want to play for Celtic again before I finish. I have unfinished business there. I love that club.”
Wanyama was part of the team which beat Barcelona in 2012 with the player opening the scoring, and he recalled one of Neil Lennon’s biggest attributes as manager.
He said: “We watched Celtic v Rangers in Kenya and I always supported Celtic — when I arrived there I chose the number 67 shirt.
“Celtic had not played much in the Champions League when I arrived. I wanted to help try and make them great again in Europe, like they were in 1967. We really believed that we could achieve anything there, and we did. We beat Barcelona 2-1.
“Neil Lennon told us that we could win and he was right. He was a brilliant motivator.”
Victor Wanyama’s Celtic transfer wish as star claims he never wanted to leave for Southampton
https://www.footballscotland.co.uk/spfl/scottish-premiership/victor-wanyamas-celtic-transfer-wish-22056322
The former Hoops hero revealed he would happily have stayed at Parkhead instead of moving down south
footballscotland
Victor Wanyama insists he would love ‘one last go’ at playing for Celtic.
The Kenyan powerhouse was a huge fans’ favourite during his two years at Parkhead.
He famously scored in the 2-1 Champions League win over Barcelona and lifted two league titles.
Poached for a bargain £900,000 from Belgian minnows Beerschot, the Hoops made a whopping £11.6million profit when he joined Southampton in 2013.
Wanyama, though, claims he never pushed for an exit and would happily have stayed in Glasgow
However, the midfielder accepts the club’s money men couldn’t afford to turn down a record £12.5m transfer fee.
Reflecting on his emotional departure, he told Football Scotland: “It was difficult.
“I personally wanted to be there but it was also a good investment for the club. It was a good business side.
“The club had to benefit to make the business side move on. I understood that.
“I loved the club and I was really happy to continue there. But the situation didn’t allow it.”
Wanyama left a gaping hole in Celtic’s engine room but was a major success at St Mary’s before following Saints mentor Mauricio Pochettino to Tottenham Hotspur in 2016.
He instantly became a key man at White Hart Lane, although he was plagued by injuries towards the end of his time in London.
That’s when Celtic came calling as Neil Lennon tried to pull off a sensational loan move in January 2020.
Wanyama was ready to sacrifice a huge chunk of his wages to make the deal happen, but Spurs wanted a permanent solution and refused to budge.
However, the 30-year-old hasn’t given up hope of pulling on the famous green and white hoops one day.
He explained: “I had a contract at Tottenham and they were very difficult to let me go, the demands were very hard.
“Celtic was a club that I would love to play for again and again. It’s more than a club. I enjoyed my time there.
“I honestly want to come back and give it a last go because I love the club, the people there, the fans, just everything there was great. They give the players everything to go on the pitch and perform. Everything was just on top.
“There was a loan approach but I don’t know what happened. I didn’t follow it up that much.
“I spoke to Neil as well and he said to me ‘it’s difficult with the demands’ and at that time they didn’t have the money to make it happen.
“But it is what is is. As I say, I still love that club, it’s in my heart.”
Asked if he would have moved back, the Champions League finalist added: “Of course, it wasn’t always about me. It was about club-to-club.
“For me, I was ready to sacrifice that time. What happened, happened.”
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Ex-Celtic boss Lennon was the man who brought Wanyama to Scotland, and for that, Big Vic will always be grateful.
“I loved working under him”, Wanyama said. “He was a great manager. He assembled a very, very good team. It was just great to play under him.
“At a club like Celtic, it was an unbelievable club. It’s a club that is like a family. Everything around the club was just perfect. It’s great.
“When you are working under him and the club is also very professional. The fans are laughing and they are kind and always pushing the team. It was a great time to be playing for Celtic.”
Wanyama has been lucky enough to experience playing at the likes of Anfield, Old Trafford and the Nou Camp, but says nothing compares to the atmosphere at Celtic Park.
He said: “Barcelona was one of the biggest nights. All the Champions League nights and the derby games against Rangers. The fans, they were on another level. Crazy, electric.
“The atmosphere was just on fire. I’ve never seen something like that somewhere else. What I’ve experienced there, you can’t have that anywhere.
“You need to be at a place like Celtic Park to experience nights like that. That’s my dream, to be one day back at Celtic Park.”
Now plying his trade in the MLS with CF Montreal, Wanyama is back enjoying his football again after a difficult couple of years at Spurs.
He still keeps tabs on Celtic’s results though, and has a Hoops supporters’ club on his doorstep in Canada.
Wanyama said: “I do sometimes watch them and wish them all the best.
“I’ve met a few of the Celtic fans here and they are all happy. They are still family. I got a message two days ago that there was some Montreal Celtic fan club.
“They asked me to go and sign something for them, so I said ‘ok I’m going to do it’.”