Graeme Souness says he 'owes 100 apologies to people' as Liverpool legend steps down as Sky Sports p

Graeme Souness will stand down as a pundit on Sky Sports, it has been announced.

The Liverpool legend has worked for Sky for over 15 years as part of their Premier League coverage, gaining a reputation for his no-nonsense style of punditry.

The 69-year-old, who has also worked for talkSPORT, is one of the most recognisable faces on the broadcaster and so his departure is certainly the end of an era.

After the news was confirmed, the former Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Rangers man told Sky Sports: “I’m going to miss you guys, the guys behind the scenes, our make-up girl, I’ll miss you all.

"You know, for me, I decided that football management wasn’t for me any more. I had the wrong temperament for it, the wrong personality.

“And then I was given the opportunity to do this and it’s been magnificent. It’s just been the most fantastic time for me, because I love football, I care about football and I worry about it going forward.

“But in Sky’s hands it’s in good hands, safe hands, and I think over the years we’ve created a Premier League with great detail and I think we look after football very well.”

He added: “But for me personally, I’ve got the buzz of live football coming to some fantastic games and some fantastic stadiums and some great events. I think I owe 100 apologies to people, but we haven’t got time for that.

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“I think people at home obviously don’t always agree with us, but it’s been great guys it really has. And it’s great right now to be amongst friends and nothing goes on forever, but I’ve got a lot of things coming up, I’m involved in my DEBRA charity and on the 27th of this month I’ll announce the challenge I’m getting involved in.

“But it’s been great so thank you to everyone.”

Souness' last match for Sky was covering his beloved Liverpool as they secured a 4-3 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.

There were a flood of messages from former players and colleagues of his.

Jamie Carragher wrote on Twitter: "Graeme Souness was one of the greatest players this country has ever seen, the same goes for him as a pundit! I’ve never seen anyone else have his authority in a studio, you’ll be missed Souey."

Broadcaster Simon Thomas added: "When I went through serious mental health problems back in the autumn of 2017 and had to come off work . . . . . . one of the first people to ring me and see how I was doing was Graeme Souness. Hell of a player & pundit who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind & someone who cared."

Piers Morgan added: "Great player, great pundit, great guy. As they say in the game, ‘a proper football man.’ Thanks for all the superb analysis, Graeme - you were usually spot on."

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