Celtic did not opt to splash the cash on any big-money signings to bolster Brendan Rodgers' squad when he returned to Glasgow last summer.

They spent moderately on a number of additions across the board, rather than going all-out on one or two names, and the £9m fee once paid for Odsonne Edouard from PSG remains the club-record signing.

The Hoops have not always had the best of luck in the transfer market when they have decided to open the purse strings to make a statement signing.

One big-money addition that turned out to be a waste of money was Brazilian centre-back Rafael Scheidt, who arrived at Parkhead in the summer of 1999.

How much Celtic paid for Rafael Scheidt

Management duo John Barnes and Kenny Dalglish opted to push the boat out to bring the Gremio star in for a reported fee of £5m ahead of the 1999/00 season.

He had been capped three times by Brazil at senior level earlier that year, which suggested that the central defender had been in fantastic form in his home country.

His performances for Gremio in the Serie A and the Libertadores had seemingly been good enough to earn him international recognition for one of the biggest footballing nations on the planet, as they had won the World Cup in 1994 and went on to win it in 2002.

It was later revealed that Dalglish had recommended the signing to Barnes after watching 'impressive' video footage of the colossus, whilst the former England international had never watched the player live before the deal was sanctioned.

This, on paper, was not a great start to his career with the Scottish giants as he had been signed by two coaches who had not seen him play extensively, which meant that they did not know the ins and outs of his style on the pitch, and that turned out to be a key mistake.

Rafael Scheidt's time with Celtic

The Brazil international turned out to be a nightmare signing for the Hoops and £5m, plus his undisclosed wages, that was wasted down the drain due to his lack of impact on the pitch.

Scheidt suffered from appendicitis before his debut for the club and was then hit with a serious knee injury after a collision with a teammate in training, which hampered his progress in Scotland.

Speaking to The Celtic Way in 2022, the defender revealed that he did not "like" the style of Scottish football, due to the overuse of long balls and physicality, and a lack of touches on the ball for him in matches.

Scottish Premiership

3

116

0

UEFA Cup qualification

2

113

1

CIS Insur. Cup

1

15

0

Martin O'Neill came in after his spells with Barnes and Dalglish and Scheidt revealed that the manager told him to change his style of play or he would not play for Celtic, and added that the boss claimed the centre-back was not good enough for Scottish football – a claim he refutes.

The Brazilian titan was then sent out on loan to Corinthians, Atlético-MG, and Botafogo over multiple seasons before leaving Parkhead on a free transfer in the summer of 2004.

Therefore, Celtic had a nightmare with the £5m signing as they wasted that money down the drain on a player the coaches had not seen live, who then went on to struggle with the style of Scottish football – which could have been predicted had they spent more time watching him in the flesh – before leaving for nothing.