Graeme Souness fights back tears as he steps down as Sky Sports pundit after 15 years | Football | Sport
Only a few days after the news broke that Jeff Stelling will be leaving Sky after 30 years with the British broadcaster, Graeme Souness has now announced he will be stepping down from his position as a Sky Sports pundit.
The Scotsman fought back tears as he reflected on his time with the company in the aftermath of Liverpool‘s sensational 4-3 win over Tottenham on Sunday afternoon in what will be his final appearance as a Sky Sports pundit.
He said: “I’ll miss you, I’ll miss you guys and the guys behind the scenes, our makeup girl. I’ll miss you. For me, I realised football management wasn’t for me anymore.
“I had the wrong temperament for it and then I was given the opportunity to do this and it’s been magnificent… It’s been the most fantastic time for me because I love football, I worry about football but in Sky’s hands, it’s in safe hands.
“And I think over the years we’ve treated the Premier League with great detail, not always love, but great detail and I think we look after football very well.
“But for me personally I’ve got the buzz of live football, going to some fantastic events and fantastic stadiums. I think I owe a hundred apologies but I haven’t got time for that.
“To people that maybe I’ve said some harsh things to but I think people at home don’t want us to agree. It’s great right now to be amongst friends and nothing goes on forever.
“I’ve got lots of things coming up, I’ve got my charity and on the 22nd coming up, I’m going to announce a challenge I’m getting involved in and that’s important to me but it’s been great. So, thank you to everybody.”
Souness was given an emotional send-off from Jamie Redknapp as well before cuddling presenter Kelly Cates in the studio. Sky Sports director of football Gary Hughes said: “We will miss Graeme’s no-nonsense approach in the studio – matched only by his playing style.
“The insight and winning mentality he brought to our viewers as a result of his years’ of experience as both a player and a manager has been invaluable to our coverage. We wish him all the best for the future.”
