LIVERPOOL legend Jamie Carragher has two wives to thank for landing the role as a pundit on American broadcaster CBS’s coverage of the UEFA Champions League.
The defender interviewed with execs for the role and despite impressing them, they had concerns over whether he could “dial back his Scouse” and if Americans could understand him.
A show executive devised a plan whereby he and two others would show their wives a video of the UEFA Champions League winner and see if they could understand his accent.
Carragher was offered the job after two of the three wives confirmed they could understand what was being said, allowing him to take his seat alongside Thierry Henry and Micah Richards.
According to The Football Weekend, show producer Pete Radovich came up with the plan whilst bringing the show to fruition during the COVID pandemic.
The broadcaster incredibly only had 28 days to put the show together and had already brought in anchor Kate Abdo along with World Cup winner Henry and former Manchester City defender Richards.
The three producers interviewed Carragher on Zoom and immediately asked about his accent, saying: “Can you dial back your Scouse?”
Carragher, who made over 500 Premier League appearances for Liverpool, assured the CBS producers that he had already been a pundit on Danish television and had no issues with doing so.
While the three executives were impressed by Carragher’s knowledge they devised a plan which would see their wives decide if the Liverpool legend would star on the show.
Radovich told The Football Weekend: “I said I’m going to find a clip of him, and we’ll show it to our wives tonight and we’ll ask our three wives, ‘Do you understand this man?’ He won on a vote of two to one.”
Football fans were stunned at the revelation and were quick to pay tribute to Carragher, arguably one of the most loved pieces of the show.
One said: “Carragher out of that whole panel is the best pundit really, [he] does his research and knows what he’s talking about. I always enjoy his analysis.”
Another added: “Carra is the best pundit on television, rarely gets it wrong.”
A third replied: “Jamie Carragher was a highly respected footballer and has a lot of great opinions and I’m a [Manchester] United fan.”
The show on CBS often draws high viewing figures as the quartet bicker and playfully tease one another with Carragher often bringing up Kate Abdo’s first kiss.
