Heartwarming reason behind Bruno Guimaraes shirt number re-emerges after Newcastle United Twitter spat

Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes has become the talking topic among supporters this week after a brief online spat with one Magpies fan account.

The Brazilian took issue with popular Newcastle United fan account @NUFC360, which tried to provoke discussion on whether it was 'too early in the season to start focusing blame on individual players'.

Guimaraes came across the post when scrolling online following Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City and snapped back a furious reply. He wrote: “Is this serious? We are in Champions League football we lost against maybe one of the best teams in the world and we have a big win and lost one game!

“Support in the best moment is easy! Short stupid memories you all have look what we have done for the team this 1 year and half.”

Since then, the 25-year-old has deleted his Tweet and NUFC360 apologised for any bad blood as the fanbase looked to patch up a misunderstanding with one of the side's most-loved players. In the aftermath of the debate, the heart-warming story behind Guimaraes' shirt number choice has remerged as proof of the down-to-earth roots he comes from.

Despite being one of the first names on Eddie Howe's team sheets, Guimaraes chooses to sport the number 39 in an unusual move for a player of his calibre. The playmaker has worn that digit at Lyon and Atletico Paranaense too. Before the star arrived at the club last year, no one had actually worn that number for the Magpies since Mehdi Abeid in the 2012/13 season.

Explaining the heart-warming reason behind the decision, Guimaraes said: "I know people think it’s a weird number for a footballer. But for me 39 is special… No, it’s more than that. It's magical.

"The number 39 gave me everything in life. It got me here to Newcastle. It fed me, clothed me, and paid for three-hour bus rides to pursue my dream. 039 was the dispatch number of my father’s taxi in Rio de Janeiro."

As the Football Away Days account re-shared the quote following the online spat, fans once again showed an outpouring of love for their classy midfielder labelling it 'wholesome stuff' and 'pure class'. One added: "Interesting story. Nice to be connected to the roots in some way."