I was meant to sign for Barcelona after meeting Johan Cruyff but Newcastle United came calling

The Newcastle United legend has lift the lid on how his move to St. James' Park came about

Newcastle United icon David Ginola claims he was supposed to sign for Spanish giants Barcelona in the summer of 1995. The French winger signed for the Toon for a reported fee of £2.5 million after the La Liga giants had to veto the deal.

Ginola claims Barca were unable to pay his wages and was told his move to the Nou Camp would have to be put on hold, but Terry McDermott and Kevin Keegan had other ideas

Speaking on Not Just Football, brought to you by Sky Bet , Ginola said: “I had a great time in Paris – we won the league, two French Cups, and I played in three semi-finals – it was a really good time. At that time, I should have signed for Barcelona, and I met Johan Cruyff during the summer, and he said that I was his priority at Barcelona.

"He had six foreigners at the club at the time and needed to get rid of [Gheorghe] Popescu, [Gheorghe] Hagi, and [Hristo] Stoichkov to put my name on the list for the chairman. I wanted for that, and we arrived at the 14th of July, Independence Day in France, and he called me and said that he couldn’t find any club to pay their wages, so it had to be for another time.

“I was in Amsterdam and received a call from Terry McDermott and he asked whether I wanted to sign for them, and I said, ‘Okay.’ An hour later, I get a phone call from David Dein who asked whether I’d signed for Newcastle because they wanted to offer me a contract.

"I said that I didn’t sign anything, but I gave my word to Terry and Kevin Keagan, so it was done. Things happened very quickly.”

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