Craig Bellamy hints that Alan Shearer snitched on him to escalate Newcastle row

Craig Bellamy has revealed that Alan Shearer snitched on him to Graeme Souness amid speculation Newcastle were going to sell him.

The former Wales international signed for the Magpies in 2001 from Coventry City and spent four years in the north east, first playing under the legendary Sir Bobby Robson before Souness arrived in 2004.

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The relationship between the pair was by no means strong and Bellamy appeared to swear at the former when taken off against Charlton and they also had a training ground argument.

Bellamy then saw a report hinting he would be sold in January and has now explained how Shearer may have added fuel to the fire.

Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, he said: “It turned out a big conflict, self-inflicted as well. Like terrible, I look back now and you talk about the [Jadon] Sancho and [Erik] ten Hag problem, this is nothing, this could be solved very quick, ours was gone, and my fault.

“I went on telly calling him a liar [referring to an interview in which he claimed Souness lied about his non-appearance against Arsenal], you know what I mean? You couldn’t apologise, what was I thinking?”

He went on to explain: “We weren’t going through a good stage at the time, that was a reason why Bobby went. There wasn’t a sudden turn of results either, he wanted to bring his own players in as well, I knew we needed to get players out.

“We were struggling for right wingers and I remember him speaking to me saying, ‘Look, can you do a job for me on the wing?’ I’ve played on the wing for Wales, I’ve played right, I’ve played left, I’ve never played up top for Wales, I always played on the wing so I could play on the wing.

“Then an article came out saying they’d listen to offers for me so, I’m not happy now. I’m like, ‘Well I’ve been playing on the wing, doing you a favour and also doing the team a favour and now you’re willing to listen to offers for me in January?’ So I said, ‘Well you know what, you can go and get someone else to play on the wing on Saturday.’”

Neville asked if he went and saw Souness, but Bellamy replied: “No I didn’t go see him, but I said it too loud. I said it around players, so as I’m reading it, I’m like, ‘Well you can go and get another winger then.’ That was at the breakfast canteen, [with] other players.”

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“I know it got back [to Souness],” he revealed and when Neville asked from where, he said: “Alan, Alan Shearer, yeah.

“That’s okay, I’m okay with that though, it’s not an issue for me, honestly. It was what it was, you know what I mean? Would I have been that happy if would have heard that? Maybe, maybe not, so I shouldn’t have said it, that’s the fact of it all.”

Bellamy added: “As training finishes, manager walks in, I’m walking out, he goes, ‘Me and you, we’re going to see the Chairman.’ So as he’s speaking to the Chairman then he’s like, ‘Did you feign an injury?’ I said, ‘No I’ve not feigned an injury, I’m fully fit.’

“So he goes, ‘Well why are you telling people now you’re going to be able to play on Saturday?’ I said, ‘I’m fully fit to play Saturday.’ So he goes, ‘Well that’s not what I hear,’ so I said, ‘Hold on a second, just look at these papers,’ cause the Chairman always had this list of papers.

“I said, ‘Why is he writing stories, you know it would come from him, that they’re willing to listen to offers for me.”

Bellamy signed for Celtic on loan for the second half of the 2004/05 season and then left Newcastle permanently for Blackburn Rovers.

He scored 43 goals and assisted another 23 across 128 appearances for the Magpies before his fallout with Souness led to his departure.