As Australian international Riley McGree continues his recuperation from a season-ending foot injury and operation, he watched his Championship club Middlesbrough fall short of the Premiership playoffs.
Meanwhile, another midfield Riley – Matt O’Riley of Celtic – is winning pennants and trophies with Celtic and having the time of his footballing life.
Given the sliding doors moment of Jan ’22, Riley McGree could be forgiven for thinking Matt O’Riley’s current high life is one that could so easily have been his.
For when McGree opted for the Championship challenges faced by ‘the Smoggies’ of ‘Boro’ over joining Ange Postecoglou’s Bhoys of Celtic in 2022, the Hoops wasted no time in snapping up midfielder Matt O’Riley from MK Dons for a paltry one and a half million quid instead.
Since joining Celtic in January 2022, O’Riley has blossomed into a creative and free-scoring Celtic mainstay, first under Ange and more recently mentored by Brendan Rodgers.
He has become a full-cap Danish international in the process, is adored by Celtic fans the world over and is spoken of in reverential tones by more decorated team-mates who clearly know that the calm and affable West London lad is imminently destined for far greater things.
It’s easy to understand O’Riley’s meteoric rise at Celtic; he’s a cultured and durable competitor with a wand of a left peg and a sharpshooter’s eye for the net.
This season alone, the man with the model good looks has notched up 19 league goals, surpassed only in the SPFL by Hearts’ main striker Lawrence Shankland who bagged 24.
Who’d bet against O’Riley reaching an impressive 20 tally given next week’s Scottish Cup Final against depleted Glasgow rivals, The Rangers?
Riley McGree. (Photo by Ashley Allen/Getty Images)
Now, if the tabloids are to be believed, Celtic’s O’Riley is attracting a host of suitors from Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan on Europe’s mainland to a clutch of EPL clubs keen to add the sweet-pegged player to their ranks.
Having allegedly knocked back a prior Atleti offer of around £20 million, Celtic are steeling themselves for expected calls from the Brightons and West Hams of the football world when the summer transfer window opens.
Can Riley McGree expect Boro’s landline to be ringing off-the-hook with comparable offers given perceptions of him as a pretty capable – though injury-blighted – Championship soldier?
On choosing Teeside over Clydeside, the gist gleaned from McGree’s camp was that the English Championship was a better stepping stone for EPL elevation than the supposedly agricultural Scottish Premiership was.
But did Riley know of Celtic’s history or get first-hand and first-class advice?
He could have tried speaking to a crop of current EPL stars including Virgil Van Dijk, Odsonne Edouard, Kris Ajer and Ryan Christie who all donned Celtic’s hoops before gracing the Premiership.
Sure, the wages in the English second tier probably dwarfed what McGree would initially have been offered in the East End of Glasgow.
But with Celtic having qualified for the newly formatted Champions League, Celtic players will live the experiential richness of an expanded top-ranking competition.
In the new CL format, 36 teams will play an initial eight fixtures against eight different Euro champions; four at home and four away creating continental memories for a lifetime.
That may even be enough to tempt Matt O’Riley to hang around Celtic Park for another season.
In the new CL format and the prospect of playing against even more of Europe’s very best sides, Celtic players will be contemplating Athletico, Lazio and Porto – instead of only thinking of the final year of a deal with Boro.
The idea of ‘living the life of Riley’ implies that someone is having an easy stroll without the need to graft too hard, but that’s not the way for talented midfielders like Riley McGree and Matt O’Riley.
Sometimes, taking the road less travelled or taking the high road, to Scotland for example, can actually help a player get to the upper echelons of the beautiful game where they can live their very best footballing life.
I’m certain we’d all welcome the prospect of seeing the ‘two Rileys’ face off in an EPL midfield battle anytime in the seasons ahead.
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