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John Barnes says Celtic have fallen behind BOURNEMOUTH in football pecking order as he deliver scathing verdict EXCLUSIVE: The former Parkhead gaffer reckons that while fans in England recognise the Old Firm are big clubs, they still dismiss Scottish football Former Celtic manager John Barnes has said his former club has fallen behind the likes of English minnows AFC Bournemouth in the football pecking order. The Liverpool and England legend delivered a harsh verdict on the Parkhead side's place in the game. He said while people in England are aware that Celtic, as well as Old Firm rivals Rangers, are huge clubs, they are still dismissed by fans. He used Bournemouth as an example of a club that isn't as big as Celtic, but are "probably a better team" at the moment. Under the stewardship of American businessman Bill Foley, the Cherries have become a fixture in England's top flight and even finished sixth last season, earning European football for the first time. Their Dean Court ground holds just 12,357, compared with the 60,411 that can cram inside Parkhead. Asked if the Old Firm are dismissed down south, Barnes, who managed Celtic for nine months in 1999 and 2000, said: "Yeah, I do, because fans do that just from a performance point of view. But the size of the club isn't reflective of the quality and the success of the club." Speaking on behalf of 247Bet, he added: "I'm sure you have clubs in other countries around the world where you've got a huge support base, but they're not going to be winning the Champions League and they don’t have the best players, but of course, we know they're huge clubs. It’s more to do with the success that those clubs have in Europe, for example, or the fact that you're going to get the best players in the world going there. "And unfortunately for Celtic and Rangers, that is always going to go against them because they’re not going to get those players at the moment. So while a lot of fans probably understand that Celtic and Rangers are big clubs, it doesn't matter how big you are if you're not going to be winning Champions Leagues and Europa Leagues and having the best players. "So, for example, Celtic will always be a much bigger club than Bournemouth, but you would have to say that Bournemouth are probably a better team than Celtic at the moment, right? So it's a question of whether you talk about the size of the club, or the historical success of the club, or the capabilities of the club at this present moment. "And unfortunately in Scotland, that is a feature, and there's probably not a lot that Celtic and Rangers can actually do about it right now." Bournemouth have been praised as one of he best-run clubs in England, but can still fork out tens of millions of pounds on transfers. Their record signing is the £40.2 million they paid for Brazilian forward Evanilson in 2024. Other big signings include Scotland star Ben Gannon-Doak, who cost £25m from Liverpool. They have offset that by bringing in huge fees, including a club-record £65m for Dominik Solanke in 2024. In contrast, Scottish champions Celtic's record fee is £11m, which they have paid twice, for striker Kasper Høgh and midfielder Arne Engels, while their record fee received is £25m for Matt O'Riley, which could rise to £30m.