Jonás Gutiérrez insists he will never forgive Newcastle United for the way the club treated him during his battle with testicular cancer.
Gutiérrez returned to Newcastle in November 2013, having initially beaten the illness, but was sent to Norwich City on loan after being told to find a new side.
“I won’t be able to forgive the way I’ve been treated, no? Because I understood the team at that time [wasn’t doing so well?] that one needed to fight to return to the pitch,” said Gutiérrez in an interview with Canal+. “Well I don’t think it was the right time nor the circumstances and I think at times like that, you should look after the individual, the player.”
After the then Norwich manager Chris Hughton was sacked, Gutiérrez returned to Newcastle before his illness returned last summer. The 31-year-old travelled to Argentina to undergo chemotherapy before returning to Tyneside to make an emotional comeback from the bench against Manchester United earlier this month.
“The people from Newcastle, the fans have behaved amazingly,” he added. “When I go around the city they congratulate me and say I’m looking very well. Very emotive words that make you very proud when you hear them. People have been so concerned for me and they’ve sent me those messages.”
Gutiérrez, who paid for his own cancer treatment, is out of contract in the summer and is expected to leave Newcastle but despite the bitterness he still holds towards the club, he would like one more season at St James’ Park.
“I know the situation here [at Newcastle] isn’t the easiest but I’m going to fight to remain here,” he said. “Time will tell, what I can do and it’s in my control to leave everything, to give the best of me and see how far I can get.”
