Craig Bellamy said Wales supporters should never question his commitment to the cause after he rejected the chance to manage Burnley, pointing to how he got solicitors’ letters to play for his country and refused to claim expenses on international duty.
Bellamy held talks with Burnley in the summer after the Championship club triggered a release clause in his contract but turned down the move because Wales was “the right place for me”.
He spent two years on the staff of Burnley, working as an assistant to Vincent Kompany and taking caretaker charge after the Belgian left for Bayern Munich, describing those years as “heaven”, but declined the chance to succeed Scott Parker.
His immediate focus is on Nations League matches against Portugal, Denmark and Norway, the first of which is in Lisbon a week on Thursday. Bellamy said Burnley’s interest posed a quandary but that it was ultimately a “simple” decision to stay with Wales, for whom he made 78 appearances as a forward and is under contract until the end of Euro 2028.
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While at Newcastle, Bellamy instructed independent solicitors to enable him to play after his club tried to stop him from featuring in Euro 2004 qualifiers against Italy and Finland. “The club were trying to tell me not to play: ‘[You] can’t play, we’re going to sue you if you do play,’ so I had to get independent solicitors’ letters to make sure I was able to play for Wales,” he said. “I ain’t seen anyone else do that.”
Bellamy said he had never submitted an expense relating to Wales duty. “Not now, not when I was a player – ever,” the 47-year-old said. “I don’t see it like that. Wales is more important, way more important to me. I charge you for me travelling here? No, I do this for free. I still do now. I’ve never put in an expense, never will.”
He also referenced his donations to Wrexham while a player. “Wrexham going out of the Football League [in 2006-07]? I donate money to Wrexham, they stay in the league,” Bellamy added. “So my commitment with Wales, I don’t believe I have to ever try and win anyone over with that. It’s there [to see], my body of work. I don’t listen to what people say. I always had that gift throughout my career. I mean it in a kind way. I had to so I could have the career I had.”
