CELTIC flop Eyal Berkovic has labelled Martin O’Neill “evil” in a remarkable podcast rant.
And the former midfielder, who cost the Hoops a record £5.75million when he arrived from West Ham in the summer of 1999 as the club appointed the management duo of John Barnes and Kenny Dalglish, also admitted he was “really gutted” his old club had won the Premiership title.
Bigmouth Berkovic, who is now a top TV pundit in his homeland of Israel, played in the infamous Scottish Cup defeat against Inverness Caley Thistle in February the following year and dropped down the pecking order after Barnes was sacked.
WHOOPS AND OOPS…Eyal Berkovic fails to endear himself to the Celtic fans as he sends a message after scoring in a game against Kilmarnock.
Successor O’Neill, who took over four months later, was clearly not an admirer of the dainty playmaker and displayed a preference for Lubo Moravcik.
Berkovic was loaned to Blackburn Rovers before signing a full-time deal at Manchester City.
The big-money misfit, speaking on his own podcast, outrageously likened O’Neill to mythical hate figure Haman.
Berkovic watched Celtic on TV as they overcame Hearts 3-1 on the last day of the league season to lift their fifth successive championship, a triumph inspired by the club’s legendary 74-year-old Irishman during his second stint as interim manager.
The one-time international star 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****d off by what happened. I prayed the whole game they would lose. Honestly, I was heartbroken they won it.”
PICTURE PERFECT…the image of Martin O’Neill and the Premiership silverware that left bigmouth Eyal Berkovic “really gutted”.
Berkovic in a report in the Scottish Sun, added: “Let me tell you a story about my time at Celtic.
“I was their biggest transfer of all time. 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.”
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