Emilio Izaguirre 'very sad' at Celtic exit for Al-Fayha in Saudi Arabia

Emilio Izaguirre has described it as "a very sad day in my life" as he completed his transfer from Celtic to Saudi Arabian club Al-Fayha.

The Honduras left-back has ended seven seasons with the Scottish champions after moving for an undisclosed fee and signing a two-year contract.

"I never thought that one day I had to say goodbye to a club that I love so much and that gave me everything in football - all my dreams came true in my professional career as a football player," he said on Instagram.

The 31-year-old thanked Neil Lennon, the former Celtic manager who signed him from Motagua in his homeland, "for trusting me and for giving me this fantastic opportunity".

Izaguirre, who has 88 caps for his country, became a first-team regular but last season was second choice to Scotland left-back Kieran Tierney.

Al-Fayha announced the signing of Emilio Izaguirre on Twitter

He made nearly 250 appearances for Celtic, but he played only 18 times in the last campaign.

Izaguirre also thanked all the staff at the cub and his team-mates, "especially my captain Scott Brown".

"Hail, hail, I love Celtic forever," he added in a post in which he included a video of himself kissing the Celtic badge on his jersey.

Izaguirre becomes the third overseas player to join the squad at Al-Faya, who were promoted to the Saudi Professional League after winning the First Division last season.

They enter the season under a new head coach, with former Romania midfielder Constantin Galca, who has spells in charge at Steaua Bucaresti and Espanyol, arriving from top-flight rivals Al-Taawoun.

Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.