Former Celtic midfielder Eyal Berkovic has laid into Martin O’Neill in a baffling rant – insisting he was “heartbroken” when Hearts flopped on the final day.
The Israeli is now a pundit on TV in his homeland and he launched into a bitter tirade about his former club and the manager he apparently despised working under.
O’Neill froze out the former midfielder during his time as Celtic boss back in 2001 and allowed him to leave the club on loan to Blackburn Rovers before he departed permanently to Manchester City.
Having joined Celts in 1999 under John Barnes for £5.75milion, Berkovic was frustrated to be left out by the Northern Irishman at the time. And even 25 years later, it seems the ex-West Ham man has not forgiven his old gaffer.
So when O’Neill and his Hoops squad lifted the Scottish Premiership title with a last day victory over the Jambos in Glasgow, Berkovic could hardly hide his disdain.
Speaking on his own ‘The magician and his sons’ podcast, via the Herald, Berkovic said: “I watched the Celtic match against Hearts and I was really gutted.
“The whole stand is full of Palestinian flags. And worst of all….who’s on the touchline? Martin O’Neill, the one who sacked me.
“To me, Martin O’Neill is the evil Haman of football. So I was really p***ed off by what happened. I prayed the whole game they would lose. Honestly, I was heartbroken they won it.”
Berkovic would then go on to reveal his thought process back from his time in Scotland when he instructed his representation to find him a route out of Celtic after just one fixture.
Eyal Berkovic launches Celtic tirade
“Let me tell you a story about my time at Celtic,” he added.
“I was their biggest transfer of all time there. They sent a helicopter to sign me.
“The first game, we had to go on a three hour drive to Aberdeen and we put on a show and won 5-0. I set up three of the goals.
“On the way back, I was on the phone to my agent Pini Zahavi and I told him, ‘if you don’t find me a new club tomorrow, I am not working with you again.’
“I wanted out of there after one game.”
Berkovic’s comments reek of bitterness from the period of his career in Scottish football.
The outspoken 54-year-old has rarely held back from blasting the quality of the Scots top flight but he struggled to cut it during his own playing days.
And O’Neill is unlikely to pay any attention anyway.
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