Manager Martin O'Neill and Formula One team boss Eddie Jordan have joined a group of Irish businessmen in investing 17million poundsin Scottish champions Celtic, the club confirmed today.
O'Neill has made an investment of two million pounds, which would seem to undermine speculation he could move to Manchester United whenmanager Alex Ferguson retires at the end of the coming season.
Financier Dermot Desmond, already Celtic's leading shareholder with around 20 percent, ploughed a further 10 million pounds into the latest shareoffer, which raised a total of 22.5 million pounds - just 2.5 million short of its target.
Other new Irish investors in Celtic include the Jordan team boss and Pearse Flynn, former president of Alcatel Carrier Networks. Jordan and Flynninvested one million pounds each.
Desmond - whose stake could increase to around 30 percent in six years under the terms of the share issue - recently said he sees the club'sfuture as part of the English premier league, an aspiration shared by their great rivals Rangers.
Desmond's closest associates - businessman and racehorse owner JP McManus, and John Magnier, who heads the Coolmore Stud in County Tipperary - did not invest. The duo last month paid 30 million pounds for 6.7 percent of Manchester United.