Moussa Dembele insisted he has 'no regrets' after forcing through his move from Celtic to Lyon.

The France Under-21 international returned to his homeland in a £19.7m deal on Deadline Day after the Scottish champions eventually gave the transfer the green light.

Celtic had initially rebuffed Lyon's advances, insisting Dembele would remain in Glasgow until a replacement in attack was found.

But the striker agitated for the move, posting a series of posts on social media that appeared to hit out at the Hoops hierarchy before manager Brendan Rodgers sent him away from training early.

Rodgers admitted his disappointment in Dembele's actions and insisted he had to sanction the sale to protect the culture of his squad.

But the 22-year-old felt the end result justified the means.

Quoted on L'Equipe following his first media conference as a Lyon player, Dembele said: "I was determined to come to Lyon, this is the option I wanted.

"But Celtic needed a replacement, well that's the excuse they gave me.

"We tried to find a solution, we did not succeed. But I was determined to come to Lyon and I let my bosses know and they gave in to let me go.

"It was hard but when we are in the process of doing things, we have no regrets. I gave everything and it paid off."

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas said Dembele's determination to join the Champions League outfit only heightened his team's intent to sign the striker.

"We had to be flexible and smart to seal the negotiation at that stage of the transfer window," he said.

"Moussa is a real goalscorer. He is able to score from the head and both feet. He will bring power. We will need that, especially in the Champions League.

"Beyond his qualities, on which there is no debate, what attracted me was his desire to come to the club. And he demonstrated it. That too is important in a transfer. "