'You and I both know the truth' - Ex-Liverpool starlet Bobby Duncan hits out at his former agent Sai
Former Liverpool starlet Bobby Duncan has hit out at his ex-agent Saif Rubie following his appearance on talkSPORT.
Rubie clashed with Simon Jordan on air as they discussed his role in the career of Duncan, who was highly rated by the Premier League club but left under a cloud in 2019.
Rubie accused Liverpool of 'bullying and mentally destroying' the then teenager - a cousin of Steven Gerrard - and engineered a move to Fiorentina on his behalf.
Duncan went on to struggle in Italy and after a spell at Derby, now plays for Spanish third division side Real Balompedica Linense.
The 21-year-old is no longer associated with Rubie, who sought to explain his actions when discussing the episode with Jordan and Jim White on talkSPORT.
Rubie: “Can I tell you something in that particular case? I actually advised him to stay at Liverpool and you have to understand one thing, which is what I was trying to tell you guys, my job is to do the best for whoever is telling me to help them whether it be the player, a buying club or a selling club.
"In that particular case, you can choose to believe me or not, I thought him staying was the best outcome. It wasn’t meant to be and in the end it got a bit ugly with Liverpool which is unfortunate.”
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The remarks of Rubie prompted a furious rebuke from Duncan on social media.
Duncan tweeted: "You and I both know the truth.
"I didn’t have a decision nor say as you took it upon yourself to jeopardise my career and to turn a local lad away from his boyhood club and leave me and my family to pick up all the pieces.
"Not once have I spoken upon this top in 'four years' as it’s been my main priority to get my career back on track. But, yet you think you have the right to mention my name on a live radio show.
"The truth will be told by myself when the time is right.
"I should never have trusted my career in your hands. I have learnt my harsh lesson there. And I just pray you have learnt yours as it could ruin another young boys career.
"And lastly, just to clarify, there was no advising given as you point blank made your mind up, publicly. And by then the damage had been done."
Rubie had earlier been challenged by former Crystal Palace owner Jordan, and host Jim White, over his actions in handling Duncan's career.
Read the exchange on Bobby Duncan in full below...
Rubie: “Can I tell you something in that particular case? I actually advised him to stay at Liverpool and you have to understand one thing, which is what I was trying to tell you guys, my job is to do the best for whoever is telling me to help them whether it be the player, a buying club or a selling club.
"In that particular case, you can choose to believe me or not, I thought him staying was the best outcome. It wasn’t meant to be and in the end it got a bit ugly with Liverpool which is unfortunate.”
Jordan: “You’re in the business of moving players around and giving them an opportunity. I’d give you an example and contradict your view of what football clubs do and don’t think.
“You’ve moved a player, the player is no longer an interest in you because this player’s of no commercial interest because the player has gone the way it’s gone.
"I had a player at Crystal Palace called John Bostock who was loved and adored by this football club. I spent a lot of time with a 15-year-old, 16-year-old boy, a lot more than a chairman should in terms of trying to convince him that his future at Crystal Palace. What he had was someone like you in his ear that created a different set of outlooks and went to Tottenham and flushed it.
“Now we have a boy who had all the opportunities in the world and the people around him at the time are no longer there because he’s no longer of any use to them anymore.
“It would seem that situation manifested itself with Bobby Duncan because the outcome is this, you’re there telling him what the challenges has got, falling out with Liverpool Football Club creating nothing but ill-will and the boys' career now, everyone’s going to get an outcome, you’re going to get an outcome that’s for damn sure however a deal gets done you get the outcome.
“The consequences are human consequences because he gets no benefit out of it whatsoever and you’re in the middle of this.”
Rubie: “Nobody and this is what I’m trying to tell you. The problem with football clubs when they have assets for whatever reason aren’t happy where they are, they seem to be more often than not keeping hold of them for dear life. I'm in the business of football.”
White: “What good did this do for Duncan?”
Rubie: “It was the truth [the tweet he sent about Liverpool’s treatment with Bobby Duncan].”
White: “You accused Liverpool of bullying and mentally destroying Duncan?”
Rubie: “I said that because it’s the truth.”
White: “Did you say that on Twitter?”
Rubie: “I don’t like to talk dirty laundry out in the public because at the end of the day, what went on behind the scenes at the time, you mentioned Michael Edwards there Simon, I can’t tell you the reason…”
White: “For those who don’t know, Saif caused controversy in 2019 around this lad Bobby Duncan at Liverpool and you accused the club of ‘bullying and mentally destroying Duncan’ days before a move was sealed to Fiorentina - a three-year deal.
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“You were critical on Twitter of the Liverpool board and you claim Duncan quotes ‘will never go back to Liverpool again, my only concern now is his mental health and wellbeing’ and now he’s in the third tier of Spanish football.”
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