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A Celtic academy graduate, McGregor has spent his entire professional career at the club, except for a single season on loan at Notts County in 2013–14. Internationally, he represented Scotland at every youth level before making his debut for the senior side in 2017. He went on to earn 63 caps and retired from national team duty in 2024.
McGregor has spoken of the influence that the late Tommy Burns had on him as a young footballer, stating that Burns had always indicated his belief that McGregor would be the next successful product of Celtic's youth academy. McGregor particularly cites a conversation with Burns as a 13-year old as staying with him throughout his whole career, where he urged him to match his ability with the correct attitude and a desire to prove himself.[7]
2013–14 season: Loan to Notts County
McGregor joined English League One club Notts County on a five-month loan in August 2013.[8] Among his teammates that season was fellow loanee midfielder Jack Grealish, a future England international.[9] He scored on his debut for the "Magpies" on 7 August, in a 3–2 win over Fleetwood Town at Meadow Lane in the first round of the League Cup.[10] Following a man of the match appearance against Crewe Alexandra where McGregor netted two goals, Notts County boss Chris Kiwomya challenged McGregor to reach 10 goals for the season in his loan spell.[11]
McGregor played the full match in a memorable League Cup encounter for the club, facing off against a Liverpool side which featured future Rangers manager Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling, and Daniel Sturridge, as well as being managed by his future Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers.[12][13] County fought back from two goals down to bring the game to extra time, going on to lose the game 4-2.[12]
McGregor's loan expired at the start of January 2014, with his 12 goals in all competitions making him the current top scorer for Notts County at that stage.[14] Kiwomya's successor, Shaun Derry, described his departure as causing a sense of disappointment in the squad.[14]
Following the expiry of his loan in January, clubs such as Wolverhampton Wanderers were credited with an interest in McGregor.[15] After missing three games while waiting for negotiations to conclude, it was confirmed on 24 January 2014 that McGregor's loan had been extended until the end of the season.[16] McGregor was put straight to the Notts County squad for their game against Walsall and marked his return with a goal, a 25-yard free kick into the top left corner.[17]
McGregor ended the season with 14 goals in all competitions [18] and as the club's top goalscorer. Shaun Derry has since praised McGregor's attitude,[18] describing him as "brilliant to work with", and felt that the club would not have avoided relegation that season had it not been for the efforts of McGregor and Grealish.[19] McGregor credits the loan spell for allowing him to develop as a player and learn the game, and felt that being involved in a relegation battle where his teammate's livelihoods were on the line caused him to "grow up a bit".[20]
2014–15 season: Celtic debut and first goal
McGregor made his first team debut for Celtic against KR Reykjavík on 15 July 2014 in a Champions League qualifier and he scored the only goal of the game.[21][22] He also scored against Legia Warsaw and NK Maribor in subsequent qualifying rounds. He made his Scottish Premiership debut against St Johnstone on 13 August 2014 and scored a goal in a 3–0 victory for Celtic. On 29 August 2014, McGregor signed a new five-year contract with Celtic.[23]
2015–16 season
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2016–17 season
McGregor made his 100th appearance for the club in a 2–1 win at Dundee on 19 March 2017.[24][3] He scored in two successive Old Firm victories against Rangers in the space of a week in April 2017.[25][26] In the 2017 Scottish Cup Final, he started in his usual midfield position but played the majority of the match at left back after an injury to Kieran Tierney. His replacement in midfield, Tom Rogic, scored the winning goal for Celtic.[27]
Having previously been on target in qualifying matches, on 31 October 2017 McGregor scored his first goal in the group stages of the Champions League, striking the equaliser at home to Bayern Munich (James Forrest providing the assist), although the German team responded to claim a 2–1 win.[28] Celtic then dropped into the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, in which McGregor scored the only goal in the first leg of the last-32 tie with Zenit St Petersburg.[29] On 19 May 2018, McGregor scored the opening goal in the Scottish Cup final.[30] This secured a second consecutive domestic treble for Celtic, the first time this had been done in Scottish football history.[30]
2018–19 season
McGregor signed a new contract with Celtic in December 2018, due to run until the end of the 2022–23 season.[31] He made his 200th Celtic appearance against Hibernian at Easter Road in the same month.[32] In May 2019, he was nominated for the season's PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year; the award was won by teammate James Forrest.[33] However, McGregor beat Forrest to Celtic's club awards, winning both the official and the players' category accolades.[34] He played more minutes than any other player in world football for club and country during 2018–19,[35] as Celtic won a third consecutive treble.[36]
2019–20 season
His contribution during 2019–20 was equally important, starting all 30 matches of the curtailed Premiership campaign (being off the field for just 26 minutes in total), all four of the League Cup fixtures and four of the five Scottish Cup matches – including two that were delayed until the end of the calendar year – as a fourth treble was secured.[37] Along with continental (14) and international appearances (6), he was again among Europe's most active footballers.
2020–21 season
In 2020–21 the club lost control of all three trophies and did not win any of their matches against Rangers, with McGregor scoring an own goal in one visit to Ibrox Stadium[38] and being sent off in the first half of another.[39] His contribution in terms of minutes played remained very high, with 49 appearances for Celtic (4256 minutes, not including the aforementioned Scottish Cup matches although completed within the span of that season) and 14 for the national team (954 minutes) up to the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 finals.[37]
2021–22 season: Celtic captaincy
On 19 July 2021, following former club captain Scott Brown's move to Aberdeen, McGregor was awarded the Celtic captaincy after making 326 appearances for the club, scoring 53 goals and winning 14 trophies – six league titles, four Scottish Cups and four League Cups. He became the 22nd captain of the club[40] and described it as a "very proud day for myself, my family, everyone connected with myself".[41] Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou described McGregor's appointment as "an easy decision but also the best decision",[42] further stating "I think he's a natural leader. He's the kind of guy people gravitate towards. He drives things."[43]
On 20 July 2021, in his first competitive appearance as club captain, McGregor was awarded Man of the Match in a 1–1 draw against FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round.[44] McGregor opened the scoring in the return leg with a 25 yard volley, however Celtic lost 2-1 and were knocked out of the competition.[45]
On 24 September 2021, McGregor signed a new five-year contract with Celtic, due to expire in the summer of 2026.[46]
2022–23 season
McGregor became the first player to win five domestic trebles for a club, after winning both the Scottish Cup (against Inverness Caledonian Thistle) and the Scottish League Cup final (against rivals Rangers) and rounded of the season by winning an 8th league title for himself and a 53rd for Celtic.[47]
2023–24 season
On 10 July 2023, McGregor signed a new five-year contract with Celtic, keeping him at the club until 2028.[48]
2024–25 season
McGregor scored several long-range goals in the first few months of the 2024–25 season, putting him top of the goalscoring charts in the Scottish Premiership.[49]
International career
Making his debut in October 2013, McGregor made five appearances and scored one goal for the Scotland national under-21 football team.[50] He was added to the full Scotland squad for the first time in August 2014, soon after he broke into the Celtic first team.[50]
In October 2017, McGregor was once again included in the full squad for two 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia and Slovenia, but remained on the bench during both games. He made his debut a month later, starting in a friendly against the Netherlands.[51] In late 2020 he scored in penalty shootouts against both Israel and Serbia as Scotland won the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League C playoffs and qualified for the UEFA Euro 2020 finals tournament (played in 2021; delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe), their first such achievement in 23 years.[37][52] He scored his first international goal during the final group fixture of the tournament against Croatia.[53]
McGregor was selected in the Scotland squad for UEFA Euro 2024. He played in the opening game of the tournament against hosts Germany on 14 June 2024; his 31st birthday, in a 5–1 defeat in Munich.[54] In Scotland's second fixture on 19 June, McGregor assisted Scott McTominay's opening goal as the team drew 1–1 with Switzerland.[55] He went on to start against Hungary in the third match on 23 June, which Scotland lost 1–0 to finish bottom of Group A with one point from three matches.[56]
On 9 August 2024, after winning 63 caps, McGregor announced his retirement from international football.[57]
In 2016, McGregor was stopped by Police while driving erratically. The breath test 78mg - over three times the legal limit of 22. He received a one-year ban. McGregor has had a previous ban for speeding.[59]
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