Felipe Melo doesn\u2019t quite fall into that category. He picked up 22 caps for the Brazil national team,<\/a> before being bombed out under infamous circumstances.<\/p>\n An aggressive, hot-headed midfielder, he amassed a whopping 26 career red cards. The most well-known was at the 2010 World Cup,<\/a> when he violently stamped on Dutch legend Arjen Robben. He wasn\u2019t seen in the national side from then on.<\/p>\n Despite this, he still had a respectable playing career, featuring for Juventus, Inter Milan and Galatasaray during his time in Europe \u2013 and he picked up a Celtic<\/a> jersey along the way.<\/p>\n Ex-Brazil midfielder Felipe Melo wears Celtic shirt<\/p>\n Melo played against Celtic for Inter in a friendly in Dublin in 2016.<\/p>\n He also faced them for Galatasaray in 2014, and this was when he got his hands on the Nike Celtic shirt from that season.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Celtic \u2018optimistic\u2019 of landing record-breaking Irish starlet who rejected Manchester City<\/a><\/p>\n He was still playing until the age of 41, but eventually retired last year at Fluminense, where he became champion of South America in 2023.<\/p>\n He now works as a pundit in Brazil, and has earned a few compliments for his choice of attire in a new video for ESPN.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udca2\ud83d\udc40 Com voc\u00eas, o ex jogador Felipe Melo. Tem mais consci\u00eancia e indigna\u00e7\u00e3o com o elenco do Vasco do que muito torcedor. \ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa5 | ESPN pic.twitter.com\/5Fh4w59cBd<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Arena Cruzmaltina (@are_cruzmaltina) November 26, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n View Tweet<\/p>\n Melo earned the nicknames \u2018Pitbull\u2019 and \u2018Gladiator\u2019 for his touch-tackling style of play during his career.<\/p>\n He was also called \u2018Big Cat\u2019 after saving a penalty for Galatasaray in 2012, following a red card to the side\u2019s main goalkeeper when the team was out of substitutions.<\/p>\n Could he have ever played for Celtic? It\u2019s hard imagining him and Scott Brown<\/a> fitting into the same midfield.<\/p>\n And given Celtic\u2019s record with Brazilian internationals, it\u2019s probably best avoided.<\/p>\n Brazilian Celtic players<\/p>\n Fans who remember Juninho\u2019s Premier League Player of the Season-winning campaign in 1997 will remember him as a magician, but he was far from that during his time in Glasgow.<\/p>\n![\"SOCCER:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-577808634-1024x686.jpg\")
Photo by Andy Mead\/YCJ\/Icon SMI\/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images<\/p>\n