Former Newcastle United forward Papiss Cisse
Former Newcastle United forward Papiss Cisse
Papiss Cisse has been urged to come out of retirement by a former Newcastle United teammate. The 39-year-old has been without a club for almost two years after leaving French club Amiens.
He trained with seventh-tier side Macclesfield in November 2023 but has remained a free agent and out of football since. The ex-Senegal international even signed for The Player Agency who help high-profile players look for clubs overseas after injuries and/or prolong their careers.
And that has helped him get an opportunity to return to the grass. Former Newcastle colleague Steven Taylor, who is now the head coach of the newly-formed Al Qabila, offered him a contract until the end of the season. The club play in the UAE Third Division League, the fourth tier of Emirati football.
Speaking after signing a contract with Al Qabila, Cisse said: "I'm thankful to The Player for the opportunity to enter the market in the UAE."
Taylor retired in 2021 and has spent three years coaching in Dubai. His Al Qabila side currently sit fourth in the league, 21 points from second, which would earn promotion to the third tier.
Cisse, meanwhile, enjoyed a memorable stint at Newcastle. He joined in January 2012 from Freiburg for £9.3million and ended that season in electric form, scoring 13 goals in 14 Premier League matches.
His second season wasn't as impressive, though he still managed to end the campaign on 13 goals in 47 appearances. The former Metz forward continued to be a pivotal figure at the heart of Newcastle's attack, but left the club in summer 2016 following their relegation to the Championship.
In total, Cisse scored 44 times in 131 matches for Newcastle before he made the move to Shandong Luneng. After a three-year spell in China, Cisse returned to Europe with Turkish side Alanyaspor and enjoyed two successful seasons there, netting a combined 42 goals in 64 appearances.
Matters at St James' Park look very different now compared to when Cisse was at the club. New owners, new players and a new manager is steering Newcastle to success, after the club won their first major trophy for 70 years during Sunday's 2-1 win over Liverpool at Wembley.
Goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak helped Newcastle beat the Reds to win the Carabao Cup - two years after they lost in the final against Manchester United.
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