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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
David Irvine

'Continue off camera' - Awkward moment O'Neill confronts Rodgers over Celtic exit

This is the moment Martin O'Neill called out Brendan Rodgers over his Celtic exit for Leicester.

The Celtic boss had left the club to join the Premier League club in 2019. 

Rodgers' controversial departure from Celtic drew criticism after his remarks on his love for the club and enjoying a remarkable winning spell in Glasgow.

However, Rodgers has claimed his decision to leave came as he "felt maybe I'd taken Celtic as far as I could".

O'Neill, though, was having none of it as he put Rodgers on the spot by insisting "you just wanted to leave" in an awkward moment during an Amazon Prime interview. 

Rodgers explained: "I've enjoyed every second of it [managing Celtic].

"Clearly when I was here the first time I had a great spell and then probably more in my own mind, in terms of football I felt maybe I'd taken Celtic as far as I could..."


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O'Neill interrupted to state: "No - you just wanted to leave young man!

"You just wanted to leave - that's the point."

Rodgers, laughing, simply replied: "Did I?"

Amazon presenter Alex Alijoe then laughed off the exchange - which left Rodgers momentarily lost for words - as she joked: "Continue that conversation off camera."

Rodgers then continued: "I felt that I had taken the club from a football perspective as far as I could and probably with my football mind moved on to Leicester and and loved time at Leicester.

"But I always felt that and and I should have I really should have known better.

"I think that it was only really when I left that I realised what me leaving meant - not in an arrogant way but in a way that it hurt people and I should have known that, being a Celtic supporter.

"But I was more thinking football and a more football move.

"I was conscious I had hurt people when I left and I wanted to make sure that when I came back that I recognised and realised it is more than that as a Celtic manager because it is people's lives.

"The love and passion for Celtic is incredible and what I did when I left didn't sit well with me.

"I didn't want that to be my legacy."

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