PATRICK Roberts said last night that his heart went out to everyone who lost friends and loved ones in the terror attack at the MEN Arena in Manchester.
The 20-year-old Celtic winger, who will return to his parent club Manchester City this summer, spent a year staying in the city's Deansgate, nearby to the site of the suicide bomb which killed 22, many of them children and young people, and injured 59 more during an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.
He wasn't the only football star with the inside track on the tragedy - City manager Pep Guardiola's wife Cristina Serra and their two daughters, Maria and Valentina, escaped unharmed despite being among the 21,000 fans at the city centre venue on the night.
“It’s a tragic thing to happen and my thoughts go out to all the families," said Roberts, who had visited the MEN Arena many times. "Girls and boys going to watch a concert. It wasn’t far from when I was living in Manchester and it was not nice to wake up and see that so many people had died. It’s a horrible thing to have happened in the world and my thoughts are with all the families.
“I’ve been to the Arena a few times, it is the main arena in Manchester and they have a lot of things on there," he added. “I’m a London boy but I went to the Arena with my friends from Manchester and it’s just a sad thing. It makes you think given how close I lived to it. This is a tragedy. You never know what is going to happen and it’s just sad that people are going to a concert and a bomb goes off."
Roberts, who is preparing for Saturday's Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen, a match where Celtic could complete only the fourth treble in the club's history, said that the incident had put football in perspective but he was confident the Manchester community would close ranks and rally round in the wake of the atrocity. Scottish football set to pay it's own tribute with a minute's silence ahead of Saturday's final.
“It does bring out the best in people - it brings the world together," said Roberts. "But what a sad thing to witness for the people who were there. It does put life and football in perspective. You can never taken anything for granted. You just have to live life every day.”
Roberts has finished the season in sparkling form - with Celtic fans urging the club to mount a serious bid of keep his talents at the club longer term. That would take a serious outlay of cash - with City at worst looking to recoup their £12m outlay on the player - and quite possibly break the Parkhead side's wage bill, but the Englishman said no discussions would take place until pre-season. “Nobody at City has been in touch," he said. "They want me to enjoy the final, get the trophy, and we’ll talk after that.”
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