Brendan Rodgers and Martin O’Neill both have one thing in common in that they have both managed Leicester City and Celtic.
Rodgers was the man to win Leicester’s first-ever FA Cup title where as O’Neill guided the Foxes to the Premier League and won two League Cup titles with them.
O’Neill admitted leaving Leicester for Celtic was difficult and when he departed in 2000, it was on good terms with the supporters.
The departure of Rodgers from the King Power Stadium wasn’t with the same feeling as many Foxes fans felt he had overstayed his welcome.
Now back at Celtic after returning at the start of the season, he and O’Neill sat down ahead of the Glasgow giants’ massive Champions League tie against Bayern Munich.
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Martin O’Neill puts Brendan Rodgers in his place after explaining why he left Celtic
At the time of Rodgers’ departure from Celtic in February 2019, the Scottish club were on the verge of a historic Treble Treble season which would’ve seen him immortalised as one of the club’s greatest managers of all time.
Instead, he chose to leave, souring his reputation in favour of a move to Leicester. It was a decision that angered fans of his boyhood club with many questioning the decision to leave so close to achieving the ultimate goal.
Speaking about his decision to leave, Rodgers told O’Neill on Amazon Prime that he felt he “had taken Celtic as far as I could” but that didn’t wash with his fellow former Leicester boss.
He said: “It was clear when I was here the first time that I had a great spell. Then, probably more in my own mind it was football, I felt maybe I had taken Celtic as far as I could.”
O’Neill then quickly interrupted, replying: “No, you just wanted to leave, young man. You wanted to leave. That’s the point.”
Brendan Rodgers was ‘disappointed’ to be sacked by Leicester City
Ask any Leicester fans about Rodgers’ legacy at the club and they won’t be sure what to tell you.
With him in charge, the Foxes won an FA Cup, a Community Shield, a run to the Europa Conference League semi-finals and two top-five finishes.
On the other hand, they’ll tell you they choked twice when challenging for a Champions League spot, failed to capitalise on their FA Cup success with the right recruitment and didn’t beat a Roma side that was there for the taking.
He is also seen as one of the influential figures in Leicester’s shocking relegation and wasn’t sacked until April, despite heavy defeats against Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion.
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In his League Managers’ Association statement after his dismissal in 2023, he said: “I am obviously disappointed to depart so close to the end of the season and had every confidence that we would have delivered the results needed to preserve the club’s Premier League status.
“I would like to wish everybody at the club the very best of luck as they seek to continue to deliver on this objective. There is a strong infrastructure and environment in place that puts the club on a strong footing to move forward – a world-class training facility, a passionate and unswerving fan base, a group of great players full of ability and character, and special owners.”