‘I could not forgive Graeme Souness for years – he crossed the road with me’
Former Premier League ace Jason McAteer has launched a scathing assault on Graeme Souness, over 20 years after their notorious bust-up.
The 52-year-old, who performed for the likes of Liverpool, Blackburn, Bolton and Sunderland, says Souness “crossed the line” whereas managing him at Rovers throughout a very turbulent time in his private life, and says it took him “years and years” to forgive him for it.
Speaking on the Undr The Cosh podcast, McAteer opened up in regards to the ache he went by way of when his girlfriend on the time, and mom of his little one, misplaced each her mother and father within the house of six weeks. He claims Souness confirmed “no compassion” and even dragged him out of the hospital to play an FA Cup match.
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“I’m in bed. It’s a Friday night before a game, the phone goes at 3am in the morning. The girl I was seeing takes the call and her mum’s [in the hospital on life support]. I took my kid to his grandparents and went to the hospital.
“Then I acquired a name from [a Blackburn staff member] saying the gaffer [Souness] says you have to play Saturday. I’m on the hospital, I am unable to play. I used to be in shock. But I used to be informed I needed to play, and he performed me the complete 90 minutes understanding what was happening.”
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McAteer says he returned to the hospital after the sport, and the next day his girlfriend’s mom had her life assist turned off and handed away. Six weeks later, her father, who had been identified with most cancers, died too, with McAteer citing a “broken heart” as a possible trigger.
He added: “I’ve never been let down by a person in a professional capacity more than that management team. I couldn’t forgive [Souness] for it for years and years and years. He had no compassion at all. I was let down by someone who I had big respect for because he was a Liverpool icon and I was a big Liverpool fan. He stepped over the line.”
The Liverpool-born former Republic of Ireland worldwide says he held an enormous grudge towards Souness for over a decade till a mutual pal tricked them into assembly one another for dinner.
“So we agreed to meet at a restaurant at 7pm. I get there and [my friend] doesn’t turn up. Ten past, Souness walks into the restaurant. He comes over and [tells me he was given the same invitation].
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“[Our mutual friend] knew the whole thing that had gone on, and he knew it’d had been years and years since we’d spoken. So he told us both he’d meet us for dinner but never turned up himself. So Graeme and I had dinner, we spoke about it, and he really apologised to me. We get on really well now, we’re completely fine with each other.”
McAteer started his profession at Bolton in 1992, and in 1995 sealed a dream transfer to boyhood membership Liverpool. He lasted 4 years at Anfield earlier than shifting to Blackburn in 1999.
A number of months later Souness joined him there, and their relationship rapidly turned bitter and McAteer was offered to Sunderland little over a yr later. The midfielder later performed for Tranmere earlier than hanging up his boots in 2007.
