Graeme Souness opens up on his Sky Sports fallout and why he by no means listens to pundits
Graeme Souness insists he has zero regrets over stepping away from his high-profile role on Sky Sports – admitting he does not even miss the job.
The straight-talking Liverpool legend spent nearly two decades as one of television’s most iconic and outspoken pundits before departing in 2023. Reflecting on his exit, Souness made it clear there is no lingering bitterness with his former employers and that he feels his time on the screen reached its natural conclusion.
“Do I miss it? No, not really,” he said, speaking exclusively to Daily Star Sport. “I enjoyed it. I had my time.
JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
Souness worked for Sky Sports for over 15 years(Image: Getty Images)
Souness says he doesn’t listen to other pundits(Image: Javier Garcia/Shutterstock)
“My career has worked out where I played for 20 years, slight crossover into management, managed for 20 years, slight crossover into television and television for 20 years. Football’s been incredibly kind to me. I’ve just been blessed.”
The former Scotland midfielder also lifted the lid on his uncompromising, old-school approach to broadcasting – admitting he completely bypassed the piles of analytical data provided to him before shows went live.
“When I used to work for Sky, I did zero prep,” Souness said. “We used to get pages and pages of stats and this and that, and I never looked at them because I knew that anything that was in the stack of papers, you could have gone into and got that same information.
“So I was going in there just – I’m watching a game of football and I’m having my thoughts about what’s happening in the game. The way I saw punditry was I’m going to try and point out to the man at home watching this something he doesn’t see. And that was my take on it.”
Now strictly watching from the comfort of his own home, Souness confessed he has zero interest in listening to today’s crop of pundits.
“I don’t watch a lot of it [punditry], I have to be honest,” he explained. “It’s not because none of them are worth listening to, but I don’t need them to influence my thoughts if I’m watching a game of football.
Souness joined Sky Sports after his managerial career ended in 2006(Image: Sky Sports )
“I’m not being disrespectful when I say I don’t really listen to pundits. I watch a game of football. Half-time, I get a cup of tea. I might hear a bit of what they say, but I’m not hanging on everybody saying something because I’ve got my own opinions.
“I’m an old man that has been around football a long, long time. So I have my own opinions.”
Souness started working regularly as a TV pundit once his managerial career ended in 2006. Over the next decade, he served as one of the broadcaster’s main analysts for their coverage of Premier League and Champions League football. The 73-year-old left the company in April 2023.
