Newcastle United defender Kieran Trippier has now revealed the reason he decided to join the Magpies over other Premier League teams.
Speaking with Rio Ferdinand for the Vibe With Five podcast on YouTube, the 32-year-old claimed he largely wanted to sign for the Toon as he wanted to move his family back to the north of England.
“I made it clear obviously when I was in Madrid that if an opportunity came in, the summer before I left, that I would want to come back to England,” Trippier said. “Think it was straight after the Euro’s.
“You know, it didn’t happen then but, obviously I had my family and stuff, and had a couple of issues with my family sort of struggling a little bit.
“Newcastle came in in January and I wanted to move back up north.
“I had a couple of offers somewhere down south and abroad and stuff.
“But you know, it’s important I got my kids and my wife back to the north of England again.”
Trippier wanted to return to Northern England
Whenever players seem to make moves somewhat out of the blue, people always seem to question their motives.
In this case, Trippier joined Newcastle following the club’s takeover by Public Investment Fund.
As a result, the right-back was accused of joining solely for the money, having received a £18,000-a-week pay-rise on top of his £82,000 weekly salary at Atletico Madrid.
However, as the player says, it was always on mind to return to the north of England.
It’s likely the 32-year-old had more lucrative offers elsewhere, but the chance to move close to home was too good of an opportunity to turn down.
Since arriving at St James’ Park, Trippier has become a hero on Tyneside.
Captaining the side on the pitch, he has certainly become one of the most important players of the Eddie Howe era.
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