Even after Arsenal called me and convince me and to offer me a contract, I remained true to my word as a man and refused to change my mind about Newcastle United

As a result of his commitment to Newcastle United, David Ginola has disclosed that he declined a transfer to Arsenal.

During the summer of 1995, Ginola was a young man who was in high demand. At a time when only three foreign players were permitted to line up in European club championships, the Paris Saint-Germain star met with his idol, Johan Cruyff, who wanted to recruit the Frenchman for Barcelona. However, the Catalan giants were eventually unable to create way for another abroad player.

They pounced on Newcastle. While Ginola was in Amsterdam, Terry McDermott called him, and the winger agreed to join the Magpies. Ginola took the call and agreed to join the team.

David Dein, the vice-chairman of Arsenal, called Ginola just a few hours later to inquire as to whether or not he had signed with Newcastle since the Gunners wanted to offer him a contract. This was an astonishing turn of events. Ginola did not back out of his verbal agreement with Newcastle, despite the fact that he had not yet put pen to paper on the matter.

He recalled having said, “I gave my word to Terry Mac and Kevin Keegan,” while he was on Not Just Football. When I said, ‘OK, it’s done,’ I meant it. After all those years — we’re talking about twenty years ago from now — the man that you are is the thing that matters to me the most. It is not the player that you used to be. ‘We admire you as a man’ is the most flattering comment that I can receive in this day and age.

In the course of your profession, you play for twenty years, but the rest of the time, you are still a man living his life. It is not going to work if you are nothing more than an idiot. When I finally meet someone and they tell me, “Oh, I like you,” it is a very crucial moment for me after all those years. You’re a gentleman, right?’ This is preferable to the statement, “Oh, you were a good player.”