STILYAN Petrov expects his return to Celtic Park to be an emotional one when he pulls on the hoops for the first time in seven years.

The Celtic hero, 34, will play at Parkhead in the #19 Legends' Charity Match - a reference to the shirt number he wore as a Celtic player - in which a team picked by him will face a team managed by former manager Martin O'Neill.

Stars including Westlife's Nicky Byrne, actor Martin Compston, Glasvegas singer James Allan and comedian John Bishop will play in Sunday's match.

More than 55,000 tickets have already been sold, with the profits going to charities which offer support to leukaemia sufferers.

Petrov, known affectionately as Stan, was diagnosed with acute leukaemia in March 2012, when he was a player with Aston Villa.

He retired from the game and is now in remission.

Petrov looked fit and healthy when he spoke at Celtic Park and said he was looking forward to the big day

He said: "I can't really imagine what it will be like, but I know it will be emotional.

"We've passed 55,000 ticket sales.

"It's incredible, but that's what Celtic is like.

"The fans always support the club and the players, even when they have stopped playing for Celtic.

"I'm really happy that they are still supporting me.

"It will be great to pull on the jersey and play in front of them again.

"I miss Celtic, especially the European nights.

"All the players who I asked to play said straight away 'yes, not a problem.'

"The guys that are still playing needed permission from their clubs, but the clubs have all been great.

"The players are coming here for a good cause but also to play in front of these fans."

Current players including Gareth Barry, John Terry and Dimitar Berbatov will join Celtic legends Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton, Lubomir Moravcik and current Parkhead manager Neil Lennon on the pitch for the game, which is sure to take place in a party atmosphere.

And there will even be a 'villain' for the fans to direct some banter towards - former Rangers defender Carlos Cuellar, who was a team mate of Stan's at Aston Villa.

Petrov was just 19 when he signed for Celtic in 1999 and the young Bulgarian worked hard to settle into life in Glasgow.

He spent hours before and after training working on a friend's burger van to help learn the local accent.

The city is still very dear to him and now that he has retired from football, he expects to be in Glasgow more often.

He added: "Glasgow is a very special place for me.

"We had an outstanding seven years here.

"One of my boys was born here and he feels like this is his home."

stef.lach@ heraldandtimes.co.uk