'I am Sandro': Tonali says he had 'two lives' before his gambling was exposed

It wasn't long into Sandro Tonali's Newcastle United career that he was taken from us in a cruel, but justified manner as he was slapped with a 10-month ban for breaching gambling rules.

As part of the whole ordeal, it was revealed that the former AC Milan midfielder had a gambling addiction and as part of his ban he was ordered to attend sessions to work through his addiction back in Italy.

Now that he's back in action for club and country the 24-year-old is feeling like a new man.

Sky Sports conducted an interview with Tonali ahead of Sunday's game against Wolverhampton Wanderers which they've just posted to YouTube this afternoon and in it Tonali explains how he felt like he had two lives when he was gambling.

Sandro Tonali was called out for looking unhappy after his £55m move to the Toon

When Tonali arrived at Newcastle he looked very quiet, very closed off and a lot of people online were criticising him for not walking around with a permanent fixed grin like Bruno Guimaraes and Miguel Almiron with AC Milan fans pointing to it and suggesting he's not happy with the move.

Now we have more of an understanding of what was really going on.

“Before the mistake, I had two lives because I was very closed off and never talked to people, even on the training ground, even with the staff. Now it’s totally different. Every day is different, especially with the staff and my teammates, because it’s normal to talk every day, it’s normal to have a relationship. When I come to the training ground now, I’m the same person; with the sporting director, with the staff, with my teammates.”

“Before these 10 months, before the last year, I don’t know, but it’s a bit different because I was another person. I was two different people in my life and in football. And now I’m just one person, just one. When I talk to the manager, I’m Sandro. When I play, I’m Sandro. When I go back to Italy, I’m Sandro. I understood this in the last year and in these 10 months.”

Tonali has the potential to be an all-time great for Newcastle

Tonali couldn't speak a word of English when he arrived at Newcastle and now he's conducting full interviews. If ever you needed assurances over his commitment to the move to the Premier League that's surely it.

Now Tonali can finally do his talking on the pitch after having just 12 games last season. We had seen mere glimpses of his quality and while we're still yet to see him at 100%, we've seen enough to know that he could be a massive star at Newcastle.

Alongside Bruno Guimaraes and with the likes of Joelinton and Joe Willock to call upon to partner them, Newcastle have a seriously scary midfield.