Sir Bobby Robson’s time as Newcastle United manager will always be looked back upon with fond memories by the fans.
After a disastrous time with Ruud Gullit at the helm, the late hero came to Tyneside to pull the Magpies out of a relegation battle and into the Champions League just a couple of seasons later.
Sir Bobby Robson then took the Magpies back to Europe’s top competition for the 2002/03 campaign, before nearly guiding them to UEFA Cup glory the season after.
Even after his passing, the former Newcastle United manager’s influence is still felt in football to this day. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola played under Robson at Barcelona.
Jose Mourinho secretly loves Newcastle because of Robson. The 62-year-old was Robson’s assistant at several clubs across Europe.
While Newcastle fans will never forget Robson’s time as manager, there was one moment in 2004 which could have completely changed the way they look at him and one player who is undoubtedly one of the best in the club’s history.
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Sir Bobby Robson nearly let Alan Shearer leave Newcastle United in 2004
Alan Shearer is a Newcastle legend and always will be. The Magpies’ top scorer with 206 goals across 10 memorable years.
The former Toon striker was known for being lethal in front of goal, with his ability to score from any angle something fans always wanted to recreate at home.
However, his career in the North East was close to being cut short after it was revealed that Patrick Kluivert was not able to join the club because of him.
As reported by the Guardian at the time, The Dutchman was ready to join Newcastle in 2004, but it was revealed that Shearer had a clause in his contract stating he must be Newcastle’s highest-paid player.
The clause proved problematic for the Magpies, preventing the club from signing high-calibre players like Kluivert. Shearer was not willing to go through with the deal, so other players were sold instead.
While his signing should have been a fairytale, Kluivert blamed Shearer for his Newcastle move flopping.
Sir Bobby Robson always wanted Alan Shearer
While Robson did toy with letting Shearer leave Newcastle, he was always a big fan of the striker.
In fact, Robson nearly changed the history of Newcastle while he was the Barcelona manager in 1996.
Barcelona’s president had tasked Robson with finding a player who would ensure the Nou Camp was sold out on a weekly basis, to which he named Shearer as the ideal player.
Robson admitted he tried to bring Shearer to Barcelona, but the local hero signed for Newcastle just a couple of weeks later.
Barcelona signed Brazilian Ronaldo instead of Shearer. A move that turned out to be a fantastic one for all involved.
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