The Columbus Crew announced Wednesday that Wilfried Nancy is joining Celtic FC as its new manager, with assistant coaches Kwame Ampadu,Jules Gueguen, and video performance coach Maxime Chalier also moving to Glasgow. 

“Wilfried helped our Club accomplish so much over the past three seasons, and we’ll forever be grateful for his passion and efforts to advance the Crew and Major League Soccer. He led us to our third MLS Cup, first Leagues Cup championship, and a Concacaf Champions Cup Final, and most importantly, his leadership further established a culture and commitment to success that will continue to positively impact our Club for years to come,” said the Haslam, Johnson, and Edwards families. 

“While we strived to keep Wilfried in Columbus, he was clear that coaching Celtic is an important next step in his professional and personal journey, which we know firsthand will be ‘limitless.’”

After joining the Black & Gold in late 2022, Nancy led the Crew to the 2023 MLS Cup title and appearances in the Leagues Cup 2024 and Concacaf Champions Cup Finals. He was also named the 2024 Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year, finishing with records of 49-23-30 (regular season), 6-4-1 (postseason), and 71-32-33 (all competitions) with Columbus. 

“It’s been a pleasure to work with Wilfried for three years as we were able to achieve many great things together during his time at the Club,” General Manager Issa Tall said. 

“Although we wish it was in the future years, we recognize Wilfried’s desire to test his skillset and philosophies outside of our league. We wish him the best at Celtic, and he’ll always be a significant part of our Club’s great history.” 

To end the 2025 season, the Crew finished with 54 points, tied for the fourth-most in Club history, with Nancy guiding the Crew to the postseason for the 19th time in franchise history. 

Nancy and his staff also helped with player development, bringing out the best in his players that earned them high honors, and transfers abroad.  

Cucho Hernanez was named the MLS Cup MVP and to the 2023 MLS Best XI, being the first player to do so since Jonathan Mensah in 2020. Midfielder Aidan Morris was a 2023 MLS All-Star, as well as being named to the 22 Under 22 list. Defender Steven Moreira was voted the 2024 MLS Defender of the Year, while also joining Hernandez on the 2024 MLS Best XI. Both Hernandez and Morris are now in Europe, with Real Betis of La Liga and Middlesbrough of the EFL Championship, respectively. While also under Nancy’s direction, Max Arfsten (USA), Mohamed Farsi (Algeria), Steven Moreira (Cape Verde), Aidan Morris (USA), Jacen Russell-Rowe (Canada), Patrick Schulte (USA) and Sean Zawadzki (USA) earned their first caps with their national teams.