‘I love the Geordies’ - Former Newcastle United defender reveals regret at forcing £8m exit

Former Newcastle United star Sebastien Bassong has lamented his behaviour at the club and shared his everlasting love for the Magpies.

The 37-year-old gave a tell-all interview to The Beautiful Game Podcast and talked through his career, including his formative years on Tyneside.

Newcastle United was the defender's first club in the UK after he arrived from Metz on a £500,000 deal as a promising youngster.

Bassong went on to make 34 appearances for the club over his first season but left promptly the next summer as his stock continued to rise. The Frenchman moved to Tottenham Hotspur for £8 million but it came after a transfer saga which saw Bassong fined for refusing to train with the Magpies squad during pre-season.

Looking back now, Bassong shared his regret for the handling of that situation. He said: "I consider Newcastle as my mum. When I think and talk about Newcastle now, they gave me a platform.

"I'm gutted to have done what I've done. To behave the way I behaved. That's my fault. I should've known better, even though I was young.

"I was approached and told not to go training by clubs and my agent, saying we were going to force the move. I'm an emotional person so I love Newcastle, even now. I love the Geordies. Later down the line I never wanted to force a move because I learnt my lesson. I always want a good relationship with people so that hurt me."

During the podcast, Bassong also spoke of his love for Spurs owner Daniel Levy and his relationship with therapy to help control his emotions when involved in the sport.

The star admitted that there were times he wound up in spats throughout his career, including one incident at Newcastle United involving big striker Andy Carroll. Bassong insisted a scrap happened away from the training ground, but didn't go into explicit detail about the fight.

Bassong said: "My teammate was getting into a fight with Andy Carroll. You know when you're in the dressing room, there is always somebody to stop you. I said I didn't get it, you guys are all bark but no bite.

"I said to my guy, if you really want to do him, tell him we are going to meet outside and deal with your business. That's not good, but for me it's direct and I respect that.

"I set it up. Andy and his friend came and said, 'what do you want to do?' I said, you see that park, tonight after training we meet there. It was two on two."