“It Hurts, But They Deserve It”: Alan Shearer’s Reluctant Respect for Sunderland’s Fairytale Rise

The Tyne-Wear rivalry is one of English football’s most fiercely contested, a divide that runs deeper than the River Tyne. For Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer, any praise for Sunderland is typically filtered through a lens of gritted teeth.

However, the Black Cats’ unprecedented 2025-26 campaign has forced even the Magpies’ all-time top scorer to offer a rare, albeit pained, admission of respect .

Sunderland’s story is nothing short of remarkable. Just one season after securing promotion via the Championship play-offs, Régis Le Bris’s side defied all expectations to finish seventh in the Premier League, clinching a spot in the Europa League for the first time in 53 years .

The final day was a nerve-shredding affair, with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea at the Stadium of Light, combined with favourable results elsewhere, sealing the European fairytale .

It marked the end of a five-decade-long absence from continental football and cemented their status as the best-performing newly promoted side since Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2018-19 .

For Shearer, this represents a particularly bitter pill to swallow, largely because of the manner in which it was achieved. Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, he admitted: “As much as it hurts me, they turned Newcastle over twice, home and away. So respect where it’s deserved” .

The double over their bitter rivals was the crown jewel in Sunderland’s season. The second of these victories, a dramatic 2-1 win at St James’ Park, saw Brian Brobbey score a 90th-minute winner, prompting Shearer to name the Dutch striker in his Premier League team of the week .

The irony was not lost on Sunderland fans, who gleefully dug up an old interview of Shearer stating he wanted Sunderland back in the Premier League to guarantee “six points” for Newcastle. The club’s official TikTok account used the clip to taunt the Magpies after securing the derby double .

Despite his Newcastle allegiances, Shearer has been effusive about the scale of the achievement.

He highlighted the incredible job done by Le Bris in integrating a staggering 14 new signings, assembled for around £160 million, into a cohesive unit .

“They deserve it,” Shearer stated. “They’ve had a brilliant season… it’s incredible for a promoted side to finish in the Europa League” .

This sentiment was echoed during a World Cup broadcast when commentator Guy Mowbray playfully nudged Shearer into acknowledging Sunderland’s success, noting that the club had 12 players at the tournament—more than Real Madrid . Shearer conceded that Sunderland had enjoyed a great season, with Mowbray quipping that the compliment had arrived without gritted teeth .

Sunderland’s unexpected position at the pinnacle of English football’s second tier—now competing in Europe—has rewritten the narrative of the North East.

For Alan Shearer, a man synonymous with Newcastle, it represents a moment of undeniable pain but undeniable respect. As he conceded, the job done by Sunderland is “some achievement, really is” . And for the Black Cats, hearing those words from their fiercest rival might just be the sweetest victory of all.