While not every Frenchman who made the jump from Ligue 1 to Newcastle United had a good time on Tyneside, Mathieu Debuchy is one of those who did.
He only spent a year and a half with the Magpies, but it was enough to eventually get him a transfer to Arsenal, who more than doubled the €6.2m fee that the St James’ Park side initially paid Lille.
The now retired 37-year-old opened up to La Voix du Nord about his time with Newcastle, and covered all aspects of it, starting from how his transfer, which took place on January 4th, should have happened the summer before.
He said: “Newcastle wanted me in the summer. I’m on holiday, I call the manager and tell him that I want to go to the Magpies. The club shut the door on me. I’m disappointed. I don’t go clash with them, but I sulk a bit. Looking back,
“I regret that it became a bit tense. In fact, I didn’t play against Copenhagen because I wanted to leave. I therefore stayed an extra six months. In December, an agreement was found just after the final game of the year and I leave in January.”
He explains the deal was struck on the same day of an Arsenal-Newcastle game, where his soon-to-be new team lose 6-0, which forced his agents to ask him whether he still wanted to go.
His answer was an obvious yes, because despite Newcastle struggling with results, he had achieved everything he wanted to at Lille and ‘needed another challenge’.
Regarding his beginnings on Tyneside, he explained: “I didn’t have time to think about it. I arrive, and three training sessions later, I’m starting against Norwich. The English adventure was starting. It was a bit weird, I’ll admit. Physically, I wasn’t ready. It was intense, including in how the players run at you. I remember a moment at the end of the game. On a cross, someone smashes into my back and the ref plays on.
“The intensity of the Premier League isn’t a myth. They don’t ask questions. There are incredible players with this technical quality, but there’s also those with that mentality, this desire to go the extra mile. I discovered passionate people at Newcastle, It’s not a regret. I would’ve like to stay longer there because I loved that club. It’s an important period of my career.”
