Anthony Gordon spoke in Spanish at his first Press conference in Barcelona
Anthony Gordon speaks to members of the media during his official presentation after joining Barcelona
View Image
Newcastle United have released a statement after selling Anthony Gordon to Barcelona for £69.3m - after his transfer was held up for NINE hours.
A delay in paperwork meant that journalists in Catalonia were waiting for the England forward's arrival, but the deal was finally pushed through at 8.16pm.
A Newcastle statement read: "Newcastle United can confirm that Anthony Gordon has signed for La Liga champions Barcelona for a significant undisclosed fee.
"Everyone at Newcastle United would like to thank Anthony for his efforts while with the club and wish him all the success for his future."
And Barca's statement said:"Anthony is one of most talented and hardest-working wingers in European football.
"He is a player with great capacity for improvement and a player who also is very hard working in defence. Even though he has played as a winger for most of his career, he has played at centre forward, a position that he could well fill at FC Barcelona."
Gordon described Barcelona as "one of the biggest clubs in the world" and said he had dreamed of signing for the club since he was "a kid."
Gordon said: "I am speaking in Spanish because - believe it or not - I felt one day I could play for Barca.
"I had a physio at Newcastle who was Spanish and we spoke Spanish every day. I told him I wanted to play for Barça one day, that’s why I speak some Spanish"
Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson praised Gordon's professionalism throughout his stint at the club and admitted that negotiations with some of the leading clubs across Europe had taken place in recent weeks, with himself and chief executive David Hopkinson working together on getting the best deal for the Magpies. It has seen a number of clever clauses inserted in the deal to take the forward to the Camp Nou.
Wilson said: "Anthony has been a fantastic professional during his time at Newcastle United. The relationship between him and the club, particularly with Eddie and our players and staff, has been excellent throughout.
"Anthony has shown real growth and development in his game. That is a reflection of both the environment we strive to create for our players and, importantly, Anthony's own commitment to improving every day.
"There has been interest in Anthony from a number of Europe's leading clubs over a period of time, and the conversations involving the club, led by David Hopkinson and myself, as well as Anthony's representatives, have been conducted confidentially and with a great deal of professionalism on all sides.
"I've enjoyed getting to know Anthony and enjoyed our relationship together. We thank him for his contribution and wish him and his family all the very best for the future. They will always be welcome back at St James' Park."
After being presented to the media, Gordon said: “I’ve loved every single minute of playing for Newcastle, being a part of Newcastle. It’s an incredible club, one I will never forget.
“I’ll be a fan for the rest of my life. I love St James’ Park so much, I’ve loved playing there. We’ve had so many amazing nights, so many big wins.“I think the energy, the fans, it’s been so iconic for me. I’ve thoroughly loved every moment playing there.“From my first day, the people took to me straight away when they didn’t have to. I’ll never be able to say thank you enough, but thank you very much."
*Get Chronicle Premium now for just £1*HERE– exclusive news and features, our NUFC and Academy notebooks, John Gibson's columns plus an ad-lite experience****
Content Image
Content Image
Here at ChronicleLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Newcastle United coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don't miss out on the latest NUFC news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories.
And, finally, if you would rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Everything is Black and White podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.