Amid the most lavish spending spree in Premier League history, Championship side Newcastle United splashed out as if they were one.
While the Toon Army clearly couldn’t compete with the top order of sides occupying the top tier of English football, Manchester United’s seismic deal to bring Paul Pogba to the club brought back a gentle reminder of days gone by.
With the Frenchman now usurping Gareth Bale as the world’s most expensive player, Magpies legend Alan Shearer has shed some light on how to deal with such a pressure.
The Geordie legend earned that crown himself back in 1996 when his boyhood club splashed £15m to bring him back to Tyneside from Blackburn Rovers.
Despite not winning anything of note across his decade at St. James’ Park, the forward established himself as perhaps the most iconic player in the club’s history as he broke their scoring record.
Knowing how to deal with that pressure, the ex-England skipper has given his thoughts on the mantle to betting company Coral (quotes sourced from the Chronicle Live.)
“My move from Southampton to Blackburn in 1992 was a British record at the time. Well worth the money I do add”, he said.
“And then of course in 1996 from Blackburn to Newcastle was a world record fee for just over £15million.
“The last thing Tim Sherwood, who was our captain at the time, said as I was leaving the changing room at Blackburn, he said to me: ‘How much was the fee that you’re going to Newcastle for?’
“I said that it was £15million and that it was a world record transfer fee, and he looked at me and he gasped and said: ‘Jesus, good luck with all that pressure on your shoulders’.”
“I sort of enjoyed it. I thought to myself ‘No one’s worth that money’. Still no one is worth that money. If someone is mad enough to pay that type of money then the pressure is on them not on me.
“I loved that ‘world record fee’ tag that came with it.
“But £15million then and what is it now? £92million for Pogba, it’s just gone up a little bit, hasn’t it? It’s crazy.”
Will Pogba be as big a success as Shearer was? Let us know below…
