Former striker Papiss Cisse says Newcastle United is still in his heart as he opens up on the impact the club has had on him. The now 38-year-old is still in football, plying his trade with French side Amiens.
Having enjoyed a career that has also seen him play in Germany, China and Turkey, the Senegalese forward says it's his four-year stay in the northeast that has made the biggest impression. He arrived in the January window of 2012 and wasted no time in announcing his arrival from Freiburg.
His form in the Bundesliga, where he found the net 37 times in 65 league games convinced then Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew to bring him to England in a £9m deal. And it looked like an incredible signing after making an instant impact.
He hit the ground running with a purple patch of 13 goals in 14 games, helping Newcastle to eight wins and two draws in that time. It was enough to help guide his new side to an impressive fifth-place finish and he was an immediate fans' favourite.
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And it wasn't just a one-way street when it came to the love affair, with Newcastle also rubbing off on him to the extent that he can still look back on his time there with fond affection. Speaking to Behind The White Lines, he opened up on his time at St James' Park.
He said: "I went to the capital Dakar, then to France, then to Germany and after Freiburg I found myself in Newcastle – and this is my team, Newcastle United. I still love this team because when I arrived, the fans, the club – it was amazing.
"The people helped me in every way. You could see it in my first six months because I felt very good and you could see it in how I was playing.
"In the dressing room, the fans inside the stadium, how they helped me to score 13 goals in 14 games. I always want to say thank you to the Newcastle fans, to the Geordie people!
"Newcastle is my team. I’d never supported a team all my life, but when I arrived at Newcastle, I have them in my heart. I have the black and white in my heart."
He hit double figures the following season, finding the net 13 times and hit 12 more in the 2014-15 campaign. However, injuries also started to keep him out of the team and he was unable to repeat that form, eventually leaving for China for an undisclosed fee to Shandong Luneng.
It was a frustrating end to his time here, but admitted there were reasons why he chose to make the move.
"I chose to go to China because I wanted to help the people behind me. I had to sacrifice a bit of my career to be able to go and take that money," he explained.
"I did that to be able to build something, to help people in my country because you have to help and give back because you know what’s going on there – not every day is beautiful there.
"I have a company there and people are working there and get a salary every month. I have an English school in Senegal and I’m building an academy to give jobs to people in my country, not just my family and friends, but I want people in the country to participate and help develop the country.
"I said to my dad that I’m going to build a mosque, not for him but for Allah, to say thanks for everything that you have given me. Today, people are praying there. It’s not my mosque, it’s a mosque for Allah, because Allah gave me everything in my life, and I’m so happy.
"I’m happy. I have great kids and a beautiful wife. I honestly can’t complain and just always say thank you, Allah."
