GLASGOW, July 28 (AFP) - Stilian Petrov has ruled out following new Bulgaria coach Hristo Stoichkov's call to leave Celtic for a big club like Barcelona to improve his game.
The Bulgaria skipper endured a bitterly disappointing Euro 2004 campaign when his country failed to win any of their games before he was sent off in their final match.
But Petrov has assured Celtic fans he is going nowhere, despite the advice of the legendary Stoichkov who has been given the job of qualifying Bulgaria for the 2006 World Cup.
"It was never in my mind to leave Celtic. I suppose everyone has an opinion and Hristo obviously has his," he told the Celtic website.
"But, while he is someone I respect, that doesn't mean I have to follow everything he says.
"All I can say is that I still have another two and a half years left on my contract here at Celtic and I want to stay. I'm having a great time with my team-mates here and I love playing for a massive club in front of 60,000 great supporters every week."
Celtic fans had feared he would be following Sweden star Henrik Larsson to Spain.