Грэм Сунесс: Футболдық сарапшы және жаттықтырушы жолы

Scottish footballer, manager and pundit (born 1953)

Souness has appeared as a television analyst in the UK and Ireland regularly since his managerial career ended. He was one of the main analysts on Sky Sports coverage of the Premier League, regularly appearing on the Super Sunday programme featuring the biggest head to head matches, and was one of the main pundits used on their UEFA Champions League coverage until they lost the rights in 2015. He left Sky Sports on 30 April 2023. Souness previously featured on RTÉ's live coverage of the UEFA Champions League and on their highlights show Premier Soccer Saturday, covering the Premier League. He was also regularly seen covering RTÉ's coverage of Republic of Ireland football internationals. Souness contributed to RTÉ Sport's coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, alongside Johnny Giles, Eamon Dunphy, Liam Brady, Ronnie Whelan, Denis Irwin, Ossie Ardiles and Dietmar Hamann for the duration of the group stage. During analysis of the World Cup match between Ghana and Serbia on 13 June 2010, Souness made a controversial comment involving Nemanja Vidić and Fernando Torres live on air, commenting, "Vidic got raped sorry, taken apart by Torres at Liverpool", which forced RTÉ to censure Souness and publicly apologise after a commercial break. In 2021, Souness was accused of "lazy punditry" by fellow Sky Sports pundit and fellow ex Liverpool player Jamie Carragher during coverage of the Anti Glazers protests by Manchester United fans at Old Trafford on 2 May. This came after Souness suggested that the reason for the protests was anger arising from a relative lack of success on the pitch since 2013 and not any anger towards the owners. Carragher hit back at this citing the formation of FC United and the protests in 2010 as reasons against Souness' comments. As a pundit, Souness is also known for his frequent criticism of Manchester United's Paul Pogba. Pogba himself is unaware what he has done to warrant such criticism. Instead, he affirms he has no idea of Souness' existence.

In June 2006, the chairman of Crystal Palace, Simon Jordan, claimed he wished to discuss with Souness a role in managing the club following the departure of Iain Dowie. However, no contract materialized. Souness looked to be the front runner for the Bolton Wanderers manager's job following the departure of his former Liverpool teammate Sammy Lee in October 2007, but later pulled out of the running when it became apparent the job was set to be given to Gary Megson. At around the same time, Souness was linked with taking over the Republic of Ireland national team. In January 2008, Souness announced he would be willing to return to Newcastle United as manager, following the departure of Sam Allardyce and the arrival of the club's new ownership and board. However, United only interviewed Harry Redknapp and Kevin Keegan for the position, with Keegan soon after being appointed with the job; Souness's interest has never been publicly acknowledged by the club. Following the sacking of Blackburn Rovers manager Paul Ince on 16 December 2008, Souness was linked with a return to the club as manager. However, Sam Allardyce was appointed as the new manager on 17 December, after Souness claimed to have had no contact at all from Blackburn about the position. Following the sacking of Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate on 21 October 2009, Souness was one of the names linked with the vacant manager's position. Gordon Strachan became the new manager. Having been linked with the Scotland national team in November 2009, Souness stated he has no desire to return to management at any level.

In January 2007, it was reported by the Daily Mirror that Souness was heading a £20 million consortium to take over Football League Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers. He attended a Wolves game as a VIP guest and made a formal offer for the club, asking to see the club's finances. The bid was rejected by the Wolves board, which felt it undervalued the club. Souness did not make a repeat offer for the club and it was later sold to another investor.

In 1985, Souness wrote an autobiography called No Half Measures. In 1999, he wrote another book chronicling his post playing career up to and including his spell at Southampton, entitled Souness: The Management Years.

Souness' first wife was Danielle Wilson; they met in 1982 and married in 1984. He adopted her young daughter, and they had three more children together. They separated in 1989 and later divorced. Souness has been married to Karen Souness, his second wife, since 1994. Together, the couple have a son and Souness has two stepchildren from Karen's previous relationship. His stepdaughter Lauren works at al Jazeera as a sports presenter. In 2010, Souness sold the family home in Colinton in Edinburgh to Fred Goodwin, and moved to a newly developed property in Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset. During a discussion about climate change on Sky Sports Super Sunday in 2021, Souness announced that he had been following a vegan diet for the previous three years.

Souness' political views have, at various points in his career, generated comment. In 1982, Souness and teammate Sammy Lee made cameo appearances, as themselves, in an episode of the BBC's Liverpudlian drama series Boys from the Blackstuff. Written by Alan Bleasdale, the series offered a critique of Thatcherism – and in particular the large scale unemployment then evident in urban Britain – apparently at odds with Souness's own Conservative politics. In 2007, in the lead up to elections to the Scottish Parliament, Souness was one of 15 prominent current and former footballers named in a newspaper advertisement urging "every patriotic Scot to help maintain Scotland's place in the United Kingdom which has served Scotland well."

Souness launched a fundraising campaign for DEBRA, a charity seeking a cure for epidermolysis bullosa, in May 2023. As part of the fundraising activities he announced plans to swim the English Channel.

His Liverpool team mate Michael Robinson said of Souness in 2016: "I found him a very personal, cuddly chap who was actually quite vulnerable about being a human being with emotions. To this day, he still tries very hard not to be this lovely cuddly person, when really he is."