Thursday 25 July 2019 15:30, UK
Hatem Abd Elhamed has revealed that the "family" atmosphere at Celtic was one of the key reasons he did "everything he could" to push through a transfer to the Scottish champions.
Elhamed signed a four-year deal with Celtic after completing a move from Israeli side Hapoel Be'er Sheva on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old defender was presented at Parkhead during half time of Celtic's 5-0 Champions League qualifying victory over Nomme Kalju on Wednesday evening.
"It was an easy decision for me," Elhamed said at a press conference on Thursday.
"When my agent told me that Celtic were interested, I was so happy and did everything to come here.
"I'm very, very happy and proud to be a Celtic player now."
Elhamed revealed that conversations with fellow Israeli internationals Nir Bitton and Beram Kayal only served to increase his desire to join the club.
Bitton has played for Celtic since 2013, while Kayal spent five years with the club before moving to Brighton in 2015.
"I spoke with Nir and spoke with Beram and they said very, very good words about the people here, about the club," Elhamed said.
"[They said] 'it's like a family and [that] I can do a very good job here with my quality.'"
