Jeff Stelling admits 'Soccer Saturday was making me ill' so had to leave Sky Sports

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Jeff Stelling, 68, has admitted he had to leave Sky Sports as hosting Soccer Saturday was making him ill.

The legendary anchor stepped down from his role as the host of the show over the summer. Although, Stelling has since returned for a similar format with Amazon rime, during their Premier League coverage, he's now admitted the show was making him feel unwell.

Speaking to The Guardian, he said: "I had the most fantastic run on the show. I made the greatest mates and was paid well for one of the best jobs in the world. But the show was heading in a direction which meant it wasn’t quite the same.

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"Even though I’d been there a long time, I felt some of my views weren’t considered at all. Every week I was fighting a battle. I got tired of fighting and it was making me ill.”

He added: "Eventually, I went to Sky’s management and said: ‘This is making me unwell. I’ve got to step away from it'."

What do you think about Soccer Saturday without Jeff Stelling? Let us know in the comments section

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Stelling was replaced by Simon Thomas on the show - and he sent out a classy message to his predecessor when making his first appearance back in August.

Thomas said to the camera: "I have not brought the boots today. I have brought my own shoes, a nice comfortable pair of size 10 leather brown shoes.

"But I want to say this, it is an absolute honour to take on the role of hosting this quite brilliant show and if I can do even half the job that the legend Jeff Stelling did over the last 25 years, I will have done something right."

Stelling was back on TV screens in December - when he headed up Amazon Prime's new Every Game Every Goal.

Fans that have missed the Hartlepool fan will now also be able to listen to him on Mondays and Tuesdays over on talkSPORT - where he hosts his own show.

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