'You aren't good enough': Nicky Butt doesn't hold back when discussing Alexander Isak's behaviour at Newcastle United
Former Newcastle United midfielder Nicky Butt has become the latest pundit to stick the boot in on Alexander Isak after the striker's behaviour this summer.
Alexander Isak has effectively gone on strike to force a move to Liverpool, faked an injury to pull out of the tour of Asia and then scarpered to Spain without the club's permission.
It feels like there isn't a bridge on Tyneside the Swede hasn't burned at this point, and many pundits condemn his behaviour. There have been a couple who have tried to support him, but the most famous one of those is Michael Owen, so ... you know.
Now, former Newcastle midfielder Nicky Butt has spoken about how the 25-year-old has alienated himself and likely ticked off his teammates.
Nicky Butt has given a strong argument about how the Newcastle players will be feeling about Alexander Isak
Butt told BetMGM (via Football365) of how he ended up on the wrong side of the Newcastle fans but was able to win them back, but he doesn't feel Isak can now.
“People make mistakes. I seem to remember Wayne Rooney having rumours around him and he stayed and went on to become Manchester United’s record goalscorer – but the way this one [the Isak situation] has gone on, it would have been ‘see you later’.
“When the player is repeatedly saying it – and he has been for two or three weeks now, [Alexander] Isak – it’s just different. It isn’t one quote that he didn’t mean, so he would have been moved on by now.
“I hope that Newcastle do that. They’re an amazing, big football club with an unbelievable fanbase. They’ve given him the platform to become the superstar he is now and changed his and his family’s lives. I think the way he’s behaved is sickening, really, but I do think he will get his move to Liverpool.”
"There’s a way of doing it. If you lose the fans, especially at a club like Newcastle, you have a long way to go to get them back on side.
“I had it after we played [Manchester] United in the FA Cup semi-final because of some false rumours that were kicking about. You can win them back, but you could also lose the players in the changing room.
“He’s basically saying ‘you aren’t good enough for me to play with’. You’re with your team-mates more than your own family at this level of football so, if you’ve lost the guy that sits next to you, it’s time to go.
“With Isak, he’s essentially just said ‘I am going and I want to go to Liverpool’.
“It’s really messy. He’s obviously got his reasons but I would hate it… hate that he thought I wasn’t good enough for him to play with me. It wouldn’t happen in the changing rooms that I was in.
“You’d maybe let it go once or twice. But the way this one has gone on is too far. I actually think the senior players, the leadership team, should go to the club and say they don’t want him around. It’s killing the squad; the way he is behaving is so selfish.
“Football is a job sometimes for these lads, no more than that. He’s not from Newcastle, he’s not a Geordie, he’s just thinking about his next move and how he gets to his dream – winning the Champions League or whatever it may be."
It just increases the likelihood that Joelinton goes at Isak like a bull when they face off
Eddie Howe has spoken about how something feels off in the dressing room while this is going on, and when you put it how Nicky Butt has, it's not hard to see why.
We'd never thought about it from the players' perspective, but Butt is right. Isak is essentially now saying he's better than everyone at the club, and they aren't worthy of playing with him.
It just adds to the idea that Joelinton is going to go through Isak so hard when Liverpool and Newcastle meet after his move that Isak will be lucky if he plays again that season (as will Joelinton, to be fair).
