Chris Waddle has lifted the lid on talk of Newcastle United signing him back in 1992.
The former England star illuminated the Continent with Marseille and earned the nickname "Magic Chris" as he linked up with icons like Basile Boli and Jean-Pierre Papin.
However, the dream move for many Toon supporters would have been to see Waddle back in a black and white shirt when Kevin Keegan returned as manager.
Waddle got as far as a conversation with Freddy Shepherd and Douglas Hall as the duo tried to set up a Geordie dream team.
But looking back, Waddle told the Chronicle: "I think there was a lot of paper talk at that time. I was at Marseille but I knew I was coming home.
"I had a meeting Freddy Shepherd and Douglas Hall.
"To be honest I didn't really get the gist of it, it felt like they were trying to sign me for signing's sake.
"But I didn't get an approach from Kevin."
Instead, Waddle - who initially left the club for Spurs in 1985 - broke Geordie hearts by signing for Sheffield Wednesday and was part of a side that reached both domestic cup finals.
He said: "I looked at what was around. I picked Sheffield Wednesday and I think a lot of people thought: 'Why didn't he go home'.
"But it was never really on the table, they were told if they wanted to pursue it to get in touch with Mel Stein who I was with at the time.
"In football you aren't going to sit around and fester.
"They knew where I was and knew the situation."
