To say that Remy Cabella’s time at Newcastle United didn’t go to plan would be an understatement, as the Frenchman won’t be remembered as anything but a failed transfer by the Magpies.
Arriving from Montpellier in 2014 for a fee of €10m, the player struggled to have an impact at St James’ Park, and was swiftly loaned to Marseille a year later, who made the move permanent for €8m after that.
The now 33-year-old may have made 34 appearances during his time at the club, but only contributed with one goal and two assists, and, speaking to So Foot this month, he reveals one of the reasons why things didn’t go to plan.
Cabella now turns out for Lille in France, having arrived there last summer from his second spell at Montpellier, who gave him a chance after he escaped Russia and Krasnodar on a free transfer in April of 2022.
Always wanting to play as a number 10 wherever he went, that wasn’t the case at Newcastle, and that’s what he believes impacted his performances at St James’ Park.
He said: “It’s true that my career would have been different if I’d spent my time in the middle. At Newcastle, I often played on the right, and it wasn’t simple. Over there, my best games were against the bigger teams, because the game was a bit more open, but I wasn’t in my role.”
This was also the case at Marseille, which annoys the player, because he feels people only saw ’60%’ of his potential on the pitch.
