Want the latest Scottish sport news sent straight to your inbox? Join thousands of others who have signed up to our Record Sport newsletter. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

AIDEN McGeady has revealed he had to get out of Glasgow because he feared for his safety. McGeady flies to Russia tomorrow to start his new life at Spartak Moscow after quitting Celtic in a jaw-dropping £9.5million deal.

It's the exclusive they all wanted but the 24-year-old winger has chosen Record Sport to lift the lid on why he left the club he loves.

In a searingly honest and hard-hitting interview, McGeady tells of his life in the public eye where he was the victim of death threats and constant abuse that soured his view of his home city and threatened to turn him into a paranoid wreck.

Now he can't wait to get away from the vitriol that engulfed him during his seven years in the Glasgow goldfish bowl and said: "Moscow is a huge city and it will be possible to have a degree of privacy.

"Glasgow really is a goldfish bowl and it's one of the things I'm glad to be getting away from.

"Neil Lennon said to me I might miss the adulation Celtic players get but I'm not so sure. I'll be away to find out if that's true, I suppose.

"My view is I need a break from it. I've had my experiences of Glasgow and I do need a change.

"There is always someone wanting to have a go at you.

"I got into a few fights in the past and wish I hadn't.

"I let my guard down a few times and it cost me.

"But some of the verbal abuse I had to take was really out of order. Because I'm a footballer, people think they are entitled to say what they like and get away with it.

"I'm talking about grown men here. They would shout, 'I hate you' or 'I'm gonna kill you, wee man'.

"There was also a lot worse but I'm not going to go into that.

"I'd just try to walk away. Looking back on it now, it was very embarrassing for the guys who had a go.

"People want to have an opinion on how footballers should live, asking 'what's he doing in a nightclub?' They think you shouldn't go for a drink and should live life like a monk.

"I'm entitled to a night out and a bit of fun. I'm a young man.

"With the benefit of hindsight, I'd probably be more cautious now. At times I didn't help myself. But I became paranoid, very wary of people looking over at me.

"Yet some of them would come over and be brand new, wish me all the best. There were times I misjudged things but the goldfish bowl does that to you. I just wish I had been maturer, quicker."

McGeady wasn't the only who was worried. His then Hoops boss, Gordon Strachan, also had his concerns as players such as Scott Brown, Darren O'Dea and Derek Riordan all became involved in city-centre brawls.

Neil Lennon was also badly beaten up and Strachan decided to act. Events were spiralling out of control so much he banned his players from socialising in Glasgow.

McGeady doesn't expect trouble in Moscow but knows his every move on the pitch will be scrutinised as the critics wait for him to flop. He said: "People do seem to like to be negative in Scotland. I know people are saying, 'Oh, I wouldn't go to Russia' and 'that's not a place to live and play football'.

"Some people have written it. Some have said it to my face. Some have said it behind my back, no doubt.

"However, Russian football is strong and competitive.

"They pay big money to attract top players and many of them will then move for a profit, some are sold for around £20m to the English Premier League.

"How many players have left the SPL for that size of fee?

"I'm not wanting to be disrespectful to the SPL but it is inferior to the Russian League.

"I think going to Russia, to play for the biggest club in the country, will bring my game on, playing with technically gifted footballers.

"But, hey, people will want to see me fail. People do want to see me fail. I need to prove them wrong. I'm very positive about it all."

McGeady didn't just fear for his life in Scotland. He also feared for his talent.

The Republic of Ireland star reckoned his ability was in danger of being stifled in the SPL - a league he believes is getting worse.

It had been on the gifted winger's mind for about a year to look for a new challenge. England was his preferred destination and at different times Aston Villa, Birmingham, Spurs, Everton and Sunderland wanted him but £8m was their valuation.

Spartak came in and blew them all out the water with their stunning bid and it meant McGeady either stayed at Celtic for another year or moved to Moscow.

The Glaswegian, who won three SPL titles as well as two Scottish Cups and two League Cups at Parkhead, said: "It was about January time I made up my mind about wanting to leave.

"If Birmingham had a bid accepted I thought I might have gone there.

"I felt as a team we weren't playing great and the standard of the SPL was going down. My own game was maybe not progressing as it should have been and I might have hit a plateau. I needed a fresh challenge. Teams always doubled up on me and it left me frustrated."

McGeady didn't believe he was receiving fair comment from so-called experts who criticised his every move.

He added: "I felt I was in a no-win situation. If I didn't turn it on against St Mirren or Kilmarnock then I'd get slaughtered. If I did rip it up on the pitch then it was just expected of me. I was on a hiding to nothing.

"It's also mentioned time and time again I do not have an end product.

"But I set up plenty of goals from crosses. It's there in the stats and stats don't lie.

"People need to open their eyes and not just see what they want to see."