Wales head coach Craig Bellamy has “burnt a lot of bridges” after his proposed move to Burnley broke down, former team-mate Iwan Roberts has said, leaving the Football Association of Wales with an awkward situation just two years before the European Championship.
Bellamy, 46, had held talks with the Clarets but the move now looks to have collapsed. Roberts, who played alongside Bellamy for Wales and Norwich City, said the episode had created tension not just with the FAW but with fans and players.
“Iwan Roberts says Craig Bellamy has 'burnt a lot of bridges' after Burnley move collapsed, casting doubt on his Wales future.”
“The association and [FAW chief executive] Noel Mooney know that Bellamy is looking at other jobs and has had his head turned by the links to Burnley,” Roberts told S4C’s Newyddion. “The big question now is whether they keep him on as national team manager. He’s lost a lot of love and faith among the fans and I would think he’s burnt a lot of bridges.”
Despite Roberts’s assessment, Mooney told the BBC’s Politics Wales programme that Bellamy is “absolutely committed” to the Wales job and that he expects him to continue in the role. Bellamy was appointed Wales boss in 2024 on a contract running until 2028, after serving as assistant to Vincent Kompany at Burnley between 2022 and 2024 and a brief spell as caretaker manager.
The Lancashire club approached the FAW with a view to appointing Bellamy as successor to Scott Parker, who was sacked in April. The breakdown is understood to not be related to compensation for the FAW, while negotiations for Bellamy’s backroom staff to join him at Turf Moor were thought to be a point of contention.
Roberts believes Bellamy’s links to the Burnley vacancy could impact on his relationship with the Wales squad and supporters. “The players will know that if he’d had the chance he would have left and gone to Burnley,” he said. “That after saying this was the best job in the world and how much he was looking forward to leading Wales into the next Euros. The next few days are going to be quite interesting, I would imagine.”
Former Wales captain Gareth Bale said it would be a major blow for Wales to lose Bellamy, while another former striker, Malcolm Allen, told BBC Radio Cymru he is pleased the head coach will remain with the European Championship two years away. Allen understood why Bellamy was attracted to the Burnley job, with the chance to take on the day-to-day responsibilities of a club manager, but recognised it was now an “uncomfortable” situation to be in.
“The problem, when he comes back with his tail…” Allen began, leaving the thought unfinished.