Nir Bitton, an imposing figure standing at 6ft 5in (1.96m) and weighing 12st 8lb (80kg), was born in Israel on the 30th of October 1991. Bitton, who wears the number 55 jersey, primarily plays as a central defender, although he is versatile enough to feature elsewhere. He currently plies his trade for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League.
Bitton's career in football was launched when he joined FC Ashdod as a trainee back in July 1997. It was during the 2009/2010 season that he first broke into the Ashdod first team, making 21 appearances and scoring one goal. Over the subsequent seasons, Bitton continued to develop, regularly featuring for the team and chipping in with a handful of goals each campaign.
In August 2013, Bitton made the significant move from Ashdod to Glasgow-based club Celtic, for a transfer fee of around £700k. It was here that Bitton really began to stamp his authority, despite his first season seeing him make a modest 15 first team appearances. His game time increased in the 2014/2015 season, during which he made 31 appearances and scored two goals.
His time at Celtic saw Bitton continue to feature regularly for the side across several seasons, scoring goals less frequently yet proving his value with consistent performances in the heart of defence. In his final season at Celtic (2021 - 2022), Bitton made 24 first team appearances and scored one goal.
Bitton's Celtic journey ended in July 2022, when he returned to his homeland to join Maccabi Tel Aviv. While at Maccabi, Bitton has made one first team appearance in the current 2024/2025 season. The defender has also featured in the Europa League Qualifiers 2024/2025 with two appearances as a substitute, and in the Conference League 2023/2024 with two starts and two appearances as a substitute.
