Paul Merson has opened up about something most pundits would never admit - he's actually phoned players to say sorry after slagging them off on TV. The Arsenal legend, who's a regular face on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday, has revealed he sometimes feels guilty after his on-air criticisms.
The 57-year-old pundit admitted that two England internationals have received unexpected apology calls from him. We're talking about Manchester United's Harry Maguire and Tottenham's James Maddison here.
So what made Merson pick up the phone? Well, it turns out his conscience got the better of him after some particularly harsh comments on the show.
The Maguire Moment
When Maguire joined United for a whopping £70million, Merson didn't hold back. He thought it was a terrible signing and said the defender wouldn't cope playing a high line on the halfway mark. Fair enough - that's punditry, right?
But Merson felt he'd gone too far. "I come away from the show and I thought nah you are out of order and it didn't feel good," he admitted on the Stick to Football podcast. He actually contacted Brendan Rodgers to get Maguire's number and made the call.
Maguire was apparently surprised to hear from him. Merson clarified he still stood by his tactical concerns, but wanted to apologise for going on and on about it. That takes some guts, to be fair.
Singling Out Maddison
The second apology came after a North London derby at Tottenham's stadium where Spurs were absolutely rubbish. Merson picked out Maddison specifically, saying he wasn't good enough and needed to do more as the number ten.
But afterwards, Merson questioned himself. Why single out Maddison when the whole team was terrible? He rang the midfielder to apologise - and got lucky. "He went 'I haven't even seen it', luckily I had run out of credit on my phone," Merson joked.
This insight shows the human side of football punditry. For those following the betting markets, Merson's criticisms of Maguire have proven somewhat accurate - the defender is now approaching the end of his United contract in June. United are already scouting Sassuolo's Tarik Muharemovic as a potential replacement.
It's refreshing to see a pundit who's willing to admit when they've crossed the line. Most pundits dish it out but never think twice about the impact on players. Merson's approach shows there's still room for decency in football criticism, even when you're paid to have strong opinions.
