Samaras: I never considered leaving Celtic
Celtic striker Georgios Samaras insists that he never had any intention of leaving the Hoops during the summer, despite persistent speculation linking him with a move away from the club.
Samaras, who played for Greece at the World Cup in South Africa, was reportedly a target of Palermo, Espanyol, Hercules and Newcastle, though a move never came to fruition.
But despite the constant rumours, Samaras says he has never considered leaving Parkhead, insisting he would much rather stay at a club that regularly challenges for silverware.
"I would love to play and stay at Celtic rather than go to a club in Italy or Germany to fight for 10th or 11th position," Samaras said. "When you finish the season, you have done nothing apart from winning enough games to stay in the middle of the table.
"That is the reason why Celtic are a great club, as you can be in the history. That's important for us to understand as players and a team, and hopefully we can make something good this year. I am away from my country, family and friends and everyone but I just feel really well here.
"I like the city. It's hard to explain. I really like being here. To be honest, I have a lot of friends here in Glasgow and there are people who speak the same language as me as well.
"I feel comfortable here. That's the reason that the world of rumours of changing clubs never passed through my mind, because that is negative and I want to stay here."
