"When I was injured for three or four weeks and the team lost the game, the newspapers would come out and say 'Newcastle have lost 2- 0 to West Ham and Marcelino is still at home and injured'. F****** hell. A player does not want to be injured. A player wants to be on the pitch, especially if you're a foreign player. If you go to another country to play football and you don't play football, then you feel awful. That's the worst feeling you can have because you are only there for that reason. My honour and my professionalism being questioned was what hurt me the most. I was never asked by the media. This is the first interview and it comes 16 years after leaving Newcastle.
"I was forcing myself and actively pulling their sleeves on a daily basis saying, 'Hey it's been a month-and-a-half now since my operation and I want to play.' They kept on saying, 'No. We don't want to risk you. The surgeon said it's 12 weeks and we don't want to be responsible for you pulling that tendon again and having to go back to surgery'. I wanted to train and be with the team. If you don't play me, fine, but I want to show you I'm fit because this is just a bloody finger.
"I learnt there's no point in remembering the bad memories because the bad makes you bad. I wanted to have an experience in the Premier League. I signed for a top club. I thank the fans because for all that was suggested about me, it could have been a lot of worse and I found a lot of sympathy. It's that unconditional support that Newcastle fans are famous for."