Former Newcastle United flop Henri Saivet has hit out at the club claiming they took his passion away following a dismal spell on Tyneside. The former Bordeaux midfielder joined the Magpies in January 2016 for a fee of £5million as the Toon looked to stave off relegation.
Rafa Benitez's side were unsuccessful and the Senegalese midfielder would spend the following campaign back in France with Saint-Etienne, playing no part in Newcastle's Championship winning campaign. He would however make three appearances in a black-and-white shirt in the 2017/18 season, scoring his only goal of his tenure against West Ham in December.
A number of loans away from the club would follow before leaving the club by mutual consent in 2021. Now, back in the French second tier, Saivet has scored four goals in his first eight appearances as he looks to reignite his career.
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Saivet told L’Equipe: “During the summer of 2019, we agreed with the leaders of Newcastle that I would terminate the last two years of my contract. However, I played in the Africa Cup of Nations and my value increased.
“When I returned, there were only two weeks left before the end of the English transfer window. I was told that they finally preferred to sell me, and I was not registered in the list of 25 players for the league. I didn’t leave and I couldn’t play. We had reached a point of no return.
“It’s with them that I started enjoying football again. With the pros, the sessions were on the side of the group or they were putting me in defence. They’d taken away that passion from me. In the U23s, I could play in my role and train regularly.”
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