Alistair Johnston feared Celtic ribbing as 'worst' possible news turned out to be the BEST he could have hoped for

Alistair Johnston feared he was waking up to the worst news possible when he saw his phone flooded with unexpected messages from family and friends.

It was only when the Celtic right-back started opening them that he discovered they were actually the best. FIFA’s Best, to be precise, with Johnston last week being included on the long list of nominees for the world governing body’s team of the year which will be announced at a glittering ceremony in January.

The 26-year-old found himself in contention for a defensive slot in the Best XI along with luminaries such as German star Mats Hummels, Arsenal’s Brazilian stopper Gabriel and Ruben Dias of Manchester City. Johnston is understandably thrilled by the honour which recognises his outstanding 2024 for both club and country. But the Canadian international admits to a period of panic before he finally realised why his phone became so red hot.

“I wasn’t notified directly by FIFA about it,” said Johnston. “I just woke up and I had messages from people that don’t normally message me.

“My aunts, uncles. I thought ‘what in the world’s going on?’ I thought something had happened. And obviously you think the worst.

“You’re waking up and you click on a photo and then you see, oh, you’re on a long list for a Best Eleven. And you’re like, ‘okay, well that was...' the heartbeat slowed down a little bit there because I was actually fearing the worst!’.

“But no, it’s a weird thing. You would think that maybe they’d call your agent and pass it through the grapevine a little bit. But no, it’s right on social media. And that’s how you kind of find out. It’s funny. It’s a great accolade.

“It was something I wasn’t expecting but obviously a pleasant surprise. You look at the list of players