Celtic manager Martin O’Neill is to leave the club after Saturday’s Scottish Cup final, with Gordon Strachan taking over from 1 June.
“I am leaving Celtic purely for personal reasons and I am extremely sorry to be departing in such circumstances,” said O’Neill.
O’Neill’s wife Geraldine has been undergoing treatment for cancer.
O’Neill added: “I would like to thank sincerely Dermot Desmond and the Celtic board for giving me the opportunity to manage this fantastic club five years ago.
“It has been an honour and privilege to have served the club and its supporters during that time and being part of Celtic history.
“My time at Celtic has been most rewarding and I have been privileged to have worked alongside a large number of very talented and committed people throughout the club.
“My special thanks to John Robertson and Steve Walford.”
Chairman Brian Quinn said it is with “great regret” and “great reluctance” that O’Neill is going.
He added: “Whilst it will come as a great disappointment that he is leaving, we fully respect the reasons behind his decision.
“He had proved himself one of the great Celtic managers and his place in the history of the club is assured.”
“I hope everything goes well for him and his family but, at the end of the day, it is his decision and he knows what is best.”
Chief executive Peter Lawwell added: “It’s to the great credit of Martin and his assistants Steve and John that they have remained totally focused on their roles. They are consummate professionals.
“Martin has taken Celtic on a remarkably thrilling and successful adventure over the past five years and, as well as achieving tremendous domestic success has helped put Celtic back where it belongs – on the European stage.”
O’Neill has been in charge at Celtic since June 2000.
His tenure ended in disappointment when Cetic surrendered their hold on the SPL title on Sunday as they lost 2-1 to Motherwell while Rangers beat Hibernian.
Strachan spent nearly five years in charge of Coventry, from 1996 to 2001, before leaving the club after they were relegated from the Premier League.
He returned to management at Southampton in October 2001, leading them to the FA Cup final in 2003 – before announcing he was taking a break from football to have a hip operation.
