Alexander Isak may not get his wish to leave Newcastle United this summer with the Magpies dragging this saga out right until Deadline Day.
Liverpool are receiving a lot of criticism from Newcastle fans and journalists – as well as from other quarters – when all they have done so far is submit a huge £110m bid for Isak.
Isak has, however, acted out and refused to train. This week, he rationalised it by revealing to the world that promises made by Newcastle heading into the summer tranfer window were broken.
Newcastle put their own statement out in response and, for their part, attempted to explain the situation, saying: “As explained to Alex and his representatives, we must always take into consideration the best interests of Newcastle United, the team and our supporters in all decisions and we have been clear that the conditions of a sale this summer have not transpired. We do not foresee those conditions being met.”
These conditions – according to reports – require Newcastle to have made the attacking signings they will need without Isak and a bid from Liverpool worth somewhere in the region of £130m.
Rio Ferdinand says Alexander Isak’s fatal mistake was trusting Newcastle United
“A promise for me, unless it is down on a bit of paper, means absolutely nothing in this game of football,” Ferdinand said.
“There’s a lot of words that get bandied about, loyalty, honesty, a gentleman’s agreement, it all means nothing in this game.
“That’s why when people start talking about it and fans do this a lot ‘ah, where’s the loyalty in the game,’ it doesn’t exist and it doesn’t exist from both sides.
“That’s the one mistake that I think that Isak, his camp, and his agent have maybe kind of got wrong.
“They’ve placed trust in words rather than trust in paperwork.”
Alexander Isak Saga ?
Is there loyalty in football? #NUFC #LFC #Isak pic.twitter.com/kCk0k9dEVi
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) August 20, 2025
Frankly, it should never be described as a mistake to trust someone.
From Isak’s perspective, he was made assurances by people that led him to believe they could be trusted. That has allegedly not transpired and so the player is acting within his rights to receive what he believes he was promised.
The next week and a bit will be full of drama from the conclusion of this saga to the clash for the ages at St. James’ Park on Monday.