Martin O’Neill couldn’t resist a playful dig at Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers during a recent interview on Amazon Prime, teasing him about his mid-season departure to Leicester City back in February 2019.
The lighthearted exchange took place as the Celtic icons reflected on the season so far and the Hoops’ chances of overcoming a 2-1 deficit to progress past Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, with O’ Neill’s humour seemingly striking a chord with the audience online since.
The former Celtic manager, who famously led the Hoops to a UEFA Cup final and multiple domestic titles during a five-year tenure in the early-2000s, joked: “You just wanted to leave, Brendan,” when discussing Rodgers’ decision to depart Parkhead for the English Premier League side.
Rodgers, who returned to Celtic for a second stint in June 2023, chuckled awkwardly before explaining his reasons for moving down south.
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“I felt that I’d taken the club from a football perspective as far as I could, so I felt with my football mind I moved on and went to Leicester,” he revealed.
“But I should’ve known better myself that it was only really when I left that I realised what me leaving meant. Not in an arrogant way, but in the way it hurt people.
“I should’ve known that being a Celtic supporter. But I was more thinking football and the next football move. I was very conscious that I had hurt people when I left, so I wanted to make sure that when I came back I recognised and realised it’s more than that as a Celtic manager.
“It’s people’s lives and the love and passion for Celtic is incredible. It didn’t sit well with me when I left and I certainly didn’t want that as my legacy."
O'Neill then chimed back in to applaud Rodgers' courage to return to his old employers.
"Brendan leaving was a surprise to a lot of Celtic fans," he stated. "He’d been very, very successful and the fans had taken him to their hearts. It almost seemed like an abrupt leaving. If he’d left at the end of the season with a few more trophies then I think everyone would’ve said well done Brendan.
"Coming back was brave. But the most important thing when you come back, especially if you have doubters, is that you win football matches. And he’s done that."
