Celtic have made a habit out of selling their best stars for big money over the years as they have nurtured and developed talent before cashing in on them.
The likes of Virgil van Dijk, French striker Odsonne Edouard, Kieran Tierney, and many others have been sold by the Hoops after successful spells on the pitch in Glasgow.
Brendan Rodgers may now be wary that some of his current stars, including the likes of Matt O'Riley and Cameron Carter-Vickers, could follow in their footsteps.
This trend is far from just a recent one, though, and one example of them striking gold on a young star in the past was prolific striker Mark Viduka.
How much Celtic paid for Mark Viduka
According to The Guardian, the Scottish giants agreed a deal worth around £3m with Dinamo Zagreb, although the Croatian side were only due to receive £900k as the player and his former club, Melbourne Knights, were due a cut of the fee.
That was in January 1999 and the Australian forward went on to score five goals in four games in all competitions for the club during the second half of that season.
He struggled to get many minutes on the pitch, as shown by him making just four appearances, as the striker jetted away from Glasgow days after signing for the club, citing depression and being unfit to play as the reasons behind his exit.
The Australia international, however, eventually returned to Parkhead and showcased his quality with five quick strikes in four matches to get supporters excited for the following campaign.
How much Celtic sold Mark Viduka for
The prolific star finally had the chance to play regular first-team football for Celtic during the 1999/00 season and caught the eye with his fantastic level of production in front of goal in all competitions.
Appearances
34
Minutes played
2,904
Goals
26
Assists
1
Yellow cards
2
As you can see in the table above, the former Zagreb starlet showcased his ability to find the back of the net on a consistent basis with 26 goals in 34 matches, which included 25 goals in 28 appearances in the Scottish Premiership.
The Hoops eventually sold Viduka to English Premier League side Leeds United in a deal Totally Money claim was worth £8.24m at the time, in the summer of 2000.
Per Totally Money's transfer index, that £8.24m would be worth a whopping £21m in today's (2024) money, based on the inflation of football transfer fees over the subsequent years since the Whites snapped him up.
This shows that Celtic struck gold with the prolific forward as he racked up 31 goals in 38 games for the club in all competitions and was then sold for a big profit, that would be worth a significant fee in today's market and was £5.24m worth of profit at the time.
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Therefore, the Scottish giants benefitted on and off the pitch, with his quality as a goalscorer and his soaring market value, from the £3m they paid to sign the striker from Dinamo Zagreb at the start of 1999.