‘Celtic’s most overrated player’ – Fans roast Hoops star after ‘unforgiveable’ display in Motherwell defeat
Celtic’s Scottish Premiership title hopes took another blow on Tuesday as they lost 2-0 to Motherwell.
Wilfried Nancy looked to have turned a corner at Celtic when he oversaw back-to-back wins in the league in recent weeks.
However, on Tuesday, the Hoops were simply woeful and allowed the hosts to dominate them from start to finish.
Pressure will no doubt be on Nancy after he suffered his fifth defeat at Celtic in seven matches.
However, on top of the manager, fans were quick to express their frustration with Reo Hatate, who was poor at Fir Park.
Full-time#MOTCEL | #CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/fSJbOTeOoM
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) December 30, 2025
Celtic fans slam Reo Hatate’s performance in Motherwell defeat
Hatate has been at Celtic since 2022 and had been one of their most reliable players.
However, this season, the Japan international has proven to be inconsistent, with Hatate putting in numerous poor performances for Celtic.
On Tuesday was another example, with fans quickly taking to X to express their anger with just how poor he was.
How many times does Hatate give the ball away. He’s Celtic’s most overrated player by some distance imho.
— Dermot Houston (@DeRebCelts) December 30, 2025
Fire a Motherwell shirt on Hatate and he wouldn’t look out of place. Gave them back the ball almost every time he’s had it.
— The Captain (@BigLinton) December 30, 2025
He’s got to go. Dreadful performance. Hardly created anything. Hatate shocking but still on. What’s this guy watching
— CELTICBOB ☘️☘️🏴🏴 (@CELTICBOB1967) December 30, 2025
Hatate easily the worst player in that 1st half and he’s still on the park
— Sean O’Prey (@seanoprey88) December 30, 2025
Multiple supporters also took issue with Hatate’s work ethic as the Hoops missed a chance to go top of the Scottish Premiership.
Hatate Just jogging back there is unforgivable
— keith finn (@ikeitho1888) December 30, 2025
Hatate should “on paper” be the best midfielder in Scotland.
— Billybhoy999 (@billybhoy999) December 30, 2025
Instead, he is a non-interested empty jersey
I’ve never really believed that players don’t try but Hatate sure is causing me to think otherwise.
— JohnnyL57 (@JohnnyL57) December 30, 2025
How bad was Hatate for Celtic?
According to Fotmob on 30 December, Hatate was dire against Motherwell.
The Japan international barely had an effect on the game throughout, and was prone to losing the ball with just a 82 per cent pass completion rate.
On top of this, he failed to have a single shot, create one chance and was even dispossessed once.
| Reo Hatate’s stats vs Motherwell | |
| Minutes | 90 |
| Passing accuracy | 82% |
| Shots | 0 |
| Chances created | 0 |
| Dispossessed | 1 |
| Aerial duels won | 0% |
Yet, Nancy kept Hatate on until the final whistle, a decision that seems baffling given the stats.
It remains to be seen if he can recover and return to form going forward, but if the Motherwell display is anything to go by, he must be dropped.
Hopefully, if Hatate is given another chance, he will prove to the fans that he is still capable of making a positive impact at Celtic Park.