My City legacy was tarnished, admits Savage

ROBBiE Savage is delighted for Leicester City’s success this season despite his “tarnished” legacy at the club, writes Jordan Blackwell.

A two-time player of the season winner at Filbert Street, Savage was a key man in the successful Martin O’Neill side of the late 1990s.

But his relationship soured with fans when, after moving to Birmingham City, he kissed the Blues’ badge while celebrating a goal at the Walkers Stadium.

Twenty years on, Savage says he regrets that action and that he’s not lost his love for City, even if the supporters may have lost their love for him.

He says he’s over the moon to see the club promoted back to the Premier League.

“Ever since the start of the season i expected Leicester to get promoted,” Savage told Planet Sport Bet.

“They brought in a young head coach from Manchester City in Enzo Maresca and he’s done unbelievably well in his first managerial job.

“The facilities, the infrastructure and the players at Leicester at the moment are brilliant. The recruitment has been good and that is key.

“Leicester have been on some ride in the past decade with promotions, relegations, Premier League titles and FA Cup wins.

“it is great to see them get promoted and i always like to see my friends who are Leicester fans celebrating.

“Leicester fans will always remember me for kissing the Birmingham City badge when i moved there but there is a bigger story behind that.

“Part of me still regrets kissing the badge, but that happened because i was booed by the Leicester fans which i thought was unfair.

“My legacy was probably tarnished by that. i am absolutely delighted for Leicester, the club and its fans deserve every success.”

Joining from Crewe in 1997, Savage made 204 appearances for City over five seasons, winning the Worthington Cup in 2000, and joined Birmingham two years later.

LEICESTER City Women captain Aileen Whelan will hang up her boots this month after announcing her retirement.

Whelan has revealed that she made the decision to call time on her career at the beginning of the campaign, making the news public with just a week to go in the Women’s Super League season.

Her final game will be at the King Power Stadium against Liverpool next weekend.

The 32-year-old midfielder has been a key player for City since her arrival from Brighton in 2022, only missing three league matches over the past two seasons.

But she feels the time is right to end her career and spend her weekends with her family, rather than on the pitch.

Whelan said: “At the start of this season, I decided to call time on my playing career at the end of the current campaign.

“I’ve had a long time to prepare for this moment and I’m sure it’s the right decision.

“Making the transition won’t be