Sky Sports presenter leaving after 43 years on TV as he gives ‘final goodbye’ in emotional statement

LEGENDARY Sky Sports presenter Nick Powell is rolling credits on a glittering 43-year broadcasting career.

Powell, 65, spent 29 years with Sky and will be retiring later this week on his 66th birthday.

The popular broadcaster has covered some of the greatest sporting events, such as England's Ashes triumph in 2005, London 2012 and Andy Murray's Wimbledon win in 2013.

The journalist issued a long farewell message on ' website where he also looked back at unforgettable interviews with the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Muhammad Ali and Princess Anne.

Powell wrote: "And there you have my job in a nutshell: holiday irrelevant; knowledge, authority and quick reactions essential.

"I have built all that up over 43 years of live broadcasting, good and bad.

"The good - being there for England men's first Ashes win in 20 years at The Oval in 2005, Super Saturday at the 2012 London Olympics and Andy Murray's 2013 Wimbledon triumph.

"The bad - the Bradford fire, the Hillsborough disaster and the premature loss of sportspeople like .

"And the surreal - interviewing Archbishop Desmond Tutu and covering a Bruce Springsteen concert on the same afternoon for Yorkshire Television, or explaining The Hundred to viewers of Sky Germany. In German."

Powell looks back at his career very fondly without regretting even the hardest times that saw him working under difficult circumstances.

But there were also some very pleasant experiences along the way, such as when he covered Liverpool's first ever Premier League triumph in 2020.

Powell wrote: "And now it's a final goodbye.

"Favourite moment? So many, but as a born and bred Liverpool fan, it's hard to beat being on air for their first league title in 30 years.

"As it turned out, between the final whistle going on Manchester City's defeat at Chelsea, which meant Liverpool could not be caught, and the start of a special programme fronted by David Jones to mark Liverpool's triumph, I had precisely 12 seconds.

"But that's live television for you."