Graeme Souness is reportedly set to step down from punditry duties with Sky Sports at the end of the current season.
The former Liverpool midfielder and manager has been a regular for the broadcaster for over a decade, having turned to media work following his last job as a manager at Newcastle in 2006. He has been used as a pundit for many of Sky’s Super Sunday programmes, alongside the likes of Roy Keane, Micah Richards and Jamie Redknapp.
Souness used to sign three-year contracts with Sky which mirrored the broadcaster’s contracts to show live Premier League matches. But The Athletic reports that the 69-year-old only penned a one-year deal this time around in the summer and could well bow out at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
Sky will show 128 live Premier League matches during the next cycle of TV rights, from 2022 to 2025, after agreeing a new deal in May 2021. And it seems that the broadcaster will use the new cycle as a chance to refresh its punditry line-up.
If he does step down Souness, who also works for talkSPORT, will not be the first familiar face to leave the broadcaster. Sky have made headlines over the past year or so after phasing out the likes of Matt Le Tissier, Charlie Nicholas and Phil Thompson from its football programming.
Presenter Jeff Stelling was set to follow them at the end of last season before announcing that he would stay on to host Soccer Saturday for the 2022/23 campaign. Chris Kamara has also stepped back from Soccer Saturday, although his departure was down to health reasons, rather than Sky’s decision.
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Souness attracted criticism in August following comments he made on Sky Sports during a 2-2 draw between Chelsea and Tottenham. “Referees are letting a lot more go and it allows for a better watch,” he said. “It’s a man's game all of a sudden now.”
His words sparked a backlash online with Lioness Bethany England and former player Eni Aluko were among those to accuse Souness of belittling women’s football. Souness stood by his comments, saying he didn’t regret “a word” of what he said. “We’ve got to be careful what we say today and I’ve not been very good at that, but we were becoming like other leagues,” he said on talkSPORT.
“They were blowing the whistle all the time and it wasn’t a good watch. Our game has always been unique, more meaty, more in your face and more intense and we got away from that. My comments yesterday were saying we’ve got our game back. That is the kind of football I remember playing in.”
He later released a further statement via Sky Sports to clarify his thoughts. He added: "Football is a game for everyone to enjoy."
