“It’s really bad news. It is horrible for a player to get an injury so for me it’s not good to play because somebody is injured. It is bad for the club and for him. I hope he recovers fast and comes back. I want to help the team in any way I can. I feel I have quality and experience after my career so far and two World Cups. I have a really good feeling here and that’s what it has been like from the first day. I have been happy with being at the club. The players gave me a good welcome. The training has been very good too and it’s nice to be here. I am looking forward to the rest of the pre-season games and the rest of the training sessions.
“After the World Cup I knew that Newcastle had an interest in me. Rafa then called me and gave a good speech to me. It was good contact for a few days. I had a really good feeling to sign here and I am happy to be at the club. He’s a top coach and I can learn a lot from him. I can learn from the Premier League and English football in general so I think there’s a lot to do. First I think I need to get my feet under the table to see how it all works. But it is a good experience and hopefully I can improve here personally and improve the team.”