LUQUE HITS OUT AT NEWCASTLE
Albert Luque, the former £10m Newcastle United flop, has hit out at his former club, saying that he felt alienated and was treated bitterly.
The 30-year-old forward, now on the books of Ajax Amsterdam, was signed in 2005 by Graeme Souness, but spent an injury-ravaged two years at St James’s Park. And after Souness was replaced by Glenn Roeder, the 16-cap Spaniard lost his place in the pecking order.
“They were two very sickening years and showed me the bitter side of football,” Luque, recently named the second worst signing of the Premier League, behind Andriy Shevchenko, said.
“Until then everything had been positive in my career, with magnificent years at Mallorca and Deportivo. I played in a World Cup, at the European Championship and arrived at Newcastle in my prime.
“At the time it was a good transfer for me and for Deportivo - I felt it was the right time to leave Spain. But I did not adapt to England and Newcastle. I was very unhappy on and off the pitch.
“Things were bad for me at Newcastle and I had to find a way out. Soon after arriving, they changed the coach, no one else spoke Spanish, and I had injuries. It is a city that helps little when things go wrong for you.”
Albert Luque, the former £10m Newcastle United flop, has hit out at his former club, saying that he felt alienated and was treated bitterly.
The 30-year-old forward, now on the books of Ajax Amsterdam, was signed in 2005 by Graeme Souness, but spent an injury-ravaged two years at St James’s Park. And after Souness was replaced by Glenn Roeder, the 16-cap Spaniard lost his place in the pecking order.
“They were two very sickening years and showed me the bitter side of football,” Luque, recently named the second worst signing of the Premier League, behind Andriy Shevchenko, said.
“Until then everything had been positive in my career, with magnificent years at Mallorca and Deportivo. I played in a World Cup, at the European Championship and arrived at Newcastle in my prime.
“At the time it was a good transfer for me and for Deportivo - I felt it was the right time to leave Spain. But I did not adapt to England and Newcastle. I was very unhappy on and off the pitch.
“Things were bad for me at Newcastle and I had to find a way out. Soon after arriving, they changed the coach, no one else spoke Spanish, and I had injuries. It is a city that helps little when things go wrong for you.”
Labels: Albert Luque, Newcastle, Premier League
