James Milner has opened up on his time working under the Irishman for two seasons at Aston Villa
15:47, 30 Mar 2026
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Martin O'Neill during his time as Aston Villa manager(Image: The FA via Getty Images)
James Milner has revealed that Martin O'Neill was left far from impressed when he swapped Aston Villa for Manchester City in a blockbuster £26million transfer 16 years ago.
And the English Premier League's all-time appearance-maker jokingly hopes that the interim Celtic manager has forgiven him all these years later.
After making his name with boyhood club Leeds United and then Newcastle, Irishman O'Neill splashed £12million to bring midfielder Milner to Villa Park in 2008.
The versatile star was a huge hit in the West Midlands, helping Villa qualify for Europe in both of his seasons with the club, winning the first of his 61 caps for England during that two-year spell.
A full 12 months prior to Milner's departure, O'Neill was left furious with the way that skipper Gareth Barry engineered a £12million move to Man City, having publicly flirted with a transfer to Liverpool in the previous season.
And Milner, who later went on to win three Premier League titles and the Champions League across his spells at the Etihad Stadium and Anfield - says that he was subjected to a similar reaction from his manager when he followed in Barry's footsteps in a cash plus swap deal with City's Stephen Ireland.
The Brighton stalwart does however insist that he loved playing under the Parkhead legend and credits him with helping him turn into a top-class midfielder having mainly been used as a wide man early in his career.
Speaking on The Rest of Football Podcast, he said: "I think it was Martin O’Neill was the first time I started and finished a season with the same manager, and that was probably what, six years into my career. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Funny man. Great storyteller.
"Yeah, I loved playing for Martin. He was so good for me and gave me that confidence and pushed me into the middle of the park, and I loved playing for Martin.
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Martin O'Neill and James Milner at Aston Villa(Image: -)
"I think he got the hump with me a bit when I left and went to Man City, but hopefully he’s alright with me now."
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