The second Billy McNeill bronze statue, created by John McKenna Sculptor at his studio in Ayrshire, the statue was commissioned by ardent Celtic fans and is now installed at Bellshill, where McNeill was born.

The statue celebrates the moment when Billy McNeill walked out onto the pitch, leading his team to play at the the European cup final Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal on 25 May 1967. Celtic won the cup final trophy by beating Inter Milan – F.C. Internazionale Milano by 2 goals to 1. This was the first occasion any British team had won the European Cup and Celtic’s captain, Billy McNeill was the first Scottish and British football team captain to have that honour of lifting the European cup. The Celtic team, managed by Jock Stein went on to become known as ‘the Lisbon Lions’ and had a great run of winning championships over the next years.

The statue portrait conveys the legendary 1967 final, the moment with Billy McNeill in the bright Lisbon sunlight. His face has a 'sun squint', has focus, it shows proud courage and the pre-match tension. These emotions are all on Billy's face as he leads his team out on to the pitch, to "kick off" the football match which became winning history.

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This is the second bronze statue to the great man, who well deserved this honour.

Unveiled by McNeill family, 26th November 2022