Charlie Methven has accused Dermot Desmond and the Celtic board of hoarding cash while failing to invest in the squad or stadium.

Charlie Methven said it is difficult to have a real-time snapshot of where Celtic are right now but he suspects they have about £90 million in cash in the bank whilst still having a not-fit-for-purpose main stand at Celtic Park and not having a squad good enough to beat absolute minnows in European qualifying.

He added that the fact of the matter is that at the same time Celtic have been very tight on spending both on their first-team squad and on their facilities, they have just been piling up cash in the bank account.

Charlie Methven blamed principal shareholder Dermot Desmond for the club's financial decisions and said the fans’ money is not being invested into the stadium, which could then help grow revenues and help the team compete on the European stage.

He accused Celtic of poor decision making in investment by the board and stated that Celtic have been piling up cash in the bank account while fans feel their money is being put into the bank account by the board instead of being invested.

Charlie Methven questioned why a 30% shareholder oversees decisions that fans feel are not investing their money.

Despite reporting a £33.9m profit in 2025 and Methven’s estimate of £90m in cash, Celtic’s latest accounts show bank funds down to £66.4m and revenue falling to £111m due to Champions League absence.

The club's latest accounts showed money in the bank was down from £77.3m to £66.4m and Celtic had a £33.9m profit in 2025.

Revenue plummeted to £111m from £143.6m for the period to June 2026 mainly due to the club's failure to qualify for the Champions League and Celtic announced a loss of £4.8million for the financial year.

Protests against Dermot Desmond, including tennis balls at a golf event, have intensified ahead of the rapidly approaching Parkhead AGM where a reckoning is expected.

Dermot Desmond was targeted by tennis balls from protesting fans in balaclavas while competing at a golf event at St Andrews earlier this month which led to furious back-and-forth statements from both the Scottish champions and fan groups.

The Parkhead AGM is rapidly approaching and former Sunderland and Charlton executive director Methven expects a reckoning for Desmond and the Parkhead board at the shareholder summit.

Speaking on the Business of Sport podcast, Methven, a former Sunderland and Charlton executive, framed the criticism as a breach of trust with fans’ money.

Charlie Methven is a former football chief and former executive director of Sunderland and Charlton, now working as a football adviser and podcaster who spoke on the Business of Sport podcast.

Celtic announced a loss of £4.8 million for the financial year and Methven said the fans are saying ‘Well, hang on a second. We’re spending all our money. You’re putting it into the bank account as a board. You’re then making bad decisions.'

He added: ‘You’re not investing our money. We’re not even asking you to invest your own money.' and ‘And all of this is being overseen and decided by a 30% shareholder. Why?'

Celtic, known as the Hoops and based in Parkhead, remain Scottish champions but face scrutiny over whether financial strength is translating to competitiveness.

Scottish champions refers to Celtic as the current champions of Scotland and The Hoops is a nickname for Celtic while Parkhead is the area where Celtic Park is located.

Celtic sit 1st in Premiership on 21 points after 8 games and the next fixture is Heart Of Midlothian at home on 2026-10-18 where Heart Of Midlothian currently sit 3rd.

The last 5 results read WLLLW (most recent first): 2 wins, 0 draws, 3 defeats.

The Parkhead AGM is rapidly approaching, where fan pressure on Dermot Desmond and the board is expected to reach a head.

Read the full report at Daily Record Football