Alexander Isak has released a bombshell statement accusing Newcastle United of “broken promises”, saying he has lost trust in the club and has to leave.
In an explosive first public intervention in a saga that has dominated the summer transfer window, Isak has gone public to say Newcastle have known about his desire to leave “for a long time” – effectively accusing the club of lying.
It is a major escalation that he will hope encourages Liverpool to come back to the table with a second bid and nixes any hopes that he can be reintegrated into the first-team squad.
Isak claims the club have known of his intentions for ‘a long time’ (Photo: Instagram)
In a story posted on Instagram, the striker says that his position at the club is now untenable in a fresh attempt to try and engineer a move to Liverpool, who had an initial offer of £110m turned down a fortnight ago.
Isak released the statement as he skipped the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) awards in Manchester, saying it was “not right to be there”.
It comes after he was formally disciplined for refusing to play in Newcastle’s Premier League season opener and a week after it was reported that he considered his Magpies career over.
His statement read: “I’m proud to be recognised by my fellow professionals with a place in the PFA Premier League Team of the Season for 2024-25.
“First and foremost I want to thank my teammates and everyone at Newcastle United who has supported me along the way.
“I’m not at the ceremony tonight. With everything going on, it didn’t feel right to be there.
“I’ve kept quiet for a long time while others have spoken. That silence has allowed people to push their own version of events, even though they know it doesn’t reflect what was really said and agreed behind closed doors.
“The reality is that promises were made and the club has known my position for a long time. To now act as if these issues are only emerging is misleading.
“When promises are broken and trust is lost, the relationship can’t continue. That’s where things are for me right now – and why change is in the best interests of everyone, not just myself.”
‘This was the last option for Isak’
It is clear the Magpies striker is trying to force a move to Liverpool (Photo: Getty)
Alexander Isak has finally pulled the pin from the grenade. The question now is whether it has blown up his last remaining bridge – or will end up blowing up in his face.
Isak’s statement is incendiary, effectively accusing Newcastle of lying to him and others of lying about him. But it’s also hugely vague, parroting a lot of the briefing that has been done on his behalf. What are the broken promises? What, exactly, is he claiming he was told and said to Newcastle?
Without those details it feels like less setting the record straight and more like an attempt to make the situation irretrievable, both for himself and a club who have still been talking about reintegration as recently as the weekend.
Save appearing on Piers Morgan’s YouTube channel to argue his case – something Cristiano Ronaldo did a few years ago when his relationship with Erik ten Hag hit rock bottom – this is really the last option available to him, an attempt to drive down his value by making him effectively unusable in the future.
The initial reaction from Newcastle is to double down on their insistence he’s not for sale. They won’t allow him to go for less than their valuation but they suspect a fresh bid is coming from Liverpool – maybe as early as 24-48 hours after the Reds play Newcastle at St James’ Park next week.
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In the short-term, this needs an official response from the club. Sources have always disputed that he was told he could leave or the timeline of events coming from the striker’s camp. But by making it public, Newcastle now need to give their version publicly.
These are serious accusations and if they remain silent, they run the risk of people coming to the conclusion Isak’s version of events is the correct one.