Cabaye says he was 'betrayed' by United and tells of regrets and his retirement
| Published date | 11 July 2021 |
| Date | 11 July 2021 |
| Publication title | Sunday Sun |
Cabaye, that most elegant of midfield playmakers, reacts to a loose ball by snapping into a challenge on Phil Bardsley that hovers perilously close to the threshold for dangerous play.
The teak tough Black Cat, whose background is in the amateur boxing clubs of Manchester's tough Moss Side, jumps up to confront Newcastle's new man. Cabaye, to a soundtrack of howls of derision from the home fans, stands up to him.
He could play but there was a streak of steel that ran through one of the best midfielders Newcastle fans have witnessed in the last decade.
"It came naturally to me to fight," he tells ChronicleLive - our sister website - in his first big interview since retirement.
"I did a lot of work in the summer before I arrived at Newcastle: to be stronger, to be physically fitter and work on my body shape but that was in me. I was a fighter. It was in mentality to fight for everything.
"My mentality was suited to the Premier League and to Newcastle, I think. I felt at home from the first minute I arrived in the city.
"It was a beautiful experience and talking to you, I'm smiling about it "For me, everything about Newcastle felt perfect when I signed."
T" here were moments when the cultures clashed.The derby was his first midday kick off and he remembers seeing team-mates shovelling pasta at 9am to fuel their bodies.
His first close season, too, was the long, hot summer of 2011 when Newcastle's abrasive hierarchy wanted to clear out the leadership group and tweet after agonising tweet from those left behind soured the bigger picture of a United's attempted evolution - of which Cabaye would form the biggest part.
When Newcastle's delegation arrived in Lille to sign him, it was after months of Graham Carr's scouting missions.
They noted a player of precise passing range who could launch attacks but it was that aggressive streak that convinced them he could settle straight away.
Looking I know 'I don't play' is
And Cabaye, who is thoughtful, diligent and speaks with quiet authority during our 40-minute chat, had just two conditions: that nothing would be signed until Lille's title campaign was over and that when it was, he would fly to Newcastle straight away to get settled quickly.
Yohan ""he club and the project they sold to me - I was very happy with it. Also, my first chat with Alan (Pardew) was brilliant and I knew that...
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