Newcastle United legend Nolberto Solano has slammed Alexander Isak for his conduct before leaving for Liverpool.
The final day of a dramatic summer transfer window saw Isak join Liverpool for a British record fee.
Once revered on Tyneside, the Sweden star tarnished his legacy at Newcastle by effectively going on strike in order to force through his move to Anfield.
It was an ugly saga and while it would have been brilliant to see Isak playing for Newcastle for at least one more season, having clarity about the situation is surely better for all involved.
At some point, Newcastle will forget about Isak. Forgiveness, however, is an entirely different matter.
A Toon legend in Solano is particularly unhappy about it.
Alexander Isak signs his Liverpool contract.
Photo by Nikki Dyer – LFC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Nolberto Solano slams Alexander Isak
The former Peruvian international made 315 appearances for Newcastle across two spells. His first came between 1998 and 2004 before he returned from Aston Villa in 2005 and stayed until 2007.
Solano, who is now in charge of the Pakistan national team, spoke to The Chronicle about Isak’s conduct. He believes that once the dust has settled, the forward will realise just how much his actions infuriated the fans.
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He said: “Alex could have had it all – even Alan Shearer’s crown as the club’s record scorer!
“It’s not a good look for Alex this and when things settle down he will realise why Newcastle’s faithful fans feel insulted by his actions, and that’s what refusing to play is, insulting to the paying Geordie public.
“He was welcomed with open arms to the city like I was and many others, so I can see why fans are disappointed. At 25 and with three years left on his deal I think he could have got close to that because Newcastle would have gave him a job for life.
“The no.9 shirt was vacant and would have been his to take at Newcastle. Alex has looked after himself really and not the club or the fans.”
Alexander Isak’s final message to the Newcastle United squad
Dan Burn has revealed that Isak thanked his teammates for the memories when he left Newcastle, to which they all replied.
That is particularly interesting because Isak’s behaviour caused annoyance in the Newcastle United squad.
Isak played a huge role in some of Newcastle’s greatest results in the modern era. He cannot be entirely airbrushed from their history but it’s a shame that it ended so badly.
Solano is right, Isak could have been a legend on Tyneside and would have done even if he left had he not acted so badly.
While he can hardly be blamed for wanting to leave, the manner in which he did so left an awful lot to be desired.