1 week Ago By [email protected] (Stuart Jamieson)
It's easy to look at the 2010s as a dark time for Newcastle United . Relegation, stadium rebranding, transfer stagnation, Premier League survival scraps . .
. it's safe to say the Mike Ashley years aren't fondly remembered. But that would be to overlook the all-too-brief halcyon days when United challenged for a Champions League spot under Alan Pardew .
For one season at least, Newcastle had an exciting side capable of taking on some of the very best, and at the heart of it all was a Frenchman who lit up St James' Park. Yohan Cabaye was a relative unknown when he arrived from Lille in 2011 as part of a 'French revolution' that would see countrymen Mathieu Debuchy, Hatem Ben Arfa and Moussa Sissoko follow him to the North East of England. The midfielder soon showed why United were so keen to land him, displaying creative skills with a steel edge alongside Cheick Tiote in the engine room.
His free flowing passing and eye for goal - particulary from the set-piece - got fans off their seats and, while his star was a little tarnished after a transfer row before he eventually left for PSG, he continue to hold a place in United hearts. His big move back to France in 2014 didn't quite go as he would have liked, and Cabaye returned to England with Crystal Palace in 2015, spending three seasons with the Eagles before heading to Saudi Arabia with Al-Nasr. Cabaye only hung up his boots in 2021 after a final season with Saint Etienne in his native France, but is still involved in the game with Paris Saint-Germain.
United fans were delighted to he see him at the Wembley Box Park as part of the pre-match build up for their Carabao Cup final clash with Liverpool in March, proving he is still just as popular with the Toon Army as he was during his playing days. After retiring from playing, Cabaye quickly moved into the coaching side of the game, landing a key position at French giants PSG. He is now the assistant academy director of the club, a role which sees him help develop the next generation of talent.
It's a job he is relishing, admitting it is more than a passion than work. "It's not even a job, it's a passion," he said in 2021. "We're all here together for the same goals.
My objective is that the players progress as much as possible and that this is visible in all aspects, be it technical, tactical, physical and especially mental. Prepare players for a career at the highest level and not a one or two year career. You have to try to last 15 years at the highest level.
This is an objective that each player must have in order to progress. I want to pass this on to them." Cabaye admits his love of popular football sim game 'Football Manager could stand him in good stead for his role coaching future talent.
He told Ladbrokes: "I've always loved Football Manager, but now I have the chance to play it in real life. I have less time to play these days, with my new role as director of the academy at PSG. I love helping to develop young players and bring them to the top and educating.
I joke but it really is like Football Manager in real life. "The people working behind the scenes for that game have done such an amazing job over the years. You know, they've managed to create a game which is really close to reality.
It's unbelievable. What's crazy is that the players' qualities are so close to reality, too, in my opinion. That's so impressive, how accurate they are.
"I'm so curious; one day, I want to go into their offices, just to understand how they work, because it's unbelievable." As anyone who saw him at the Box Park at Wembley, you could fooled into thinking Cabaye could pull on a pair of boots and continue his playing career. Still only 39, the Frenchman is no stanger to fashion shoots and classic Parisian style.
During his time at Newcastle, he was affectionately dubbed 'Dreamboat' by admiring fans, although anyone on the wrong end of one of his fierce challenges may disagree. Cabaye has three daughters from his marriage to Fiona - Myla, Charlize and Romy. He also has two children with his current partner Laetitia Bernardini - daugher Linoi was born in 2016 and son Maian was born in 2017.
He keeps his personal life private, but following the split with his wife, told L'Equipe: “It is my private life and I want to keep it private. It is the first and last time I will speak about this episode. It was a bad moment, that is sure.
It did hurt me, it hurt my family and those close to me. "There were a lot, a lot of lies. I did not want to talk because my children were caught in the middle.
I wanted to protect them. Have I come out of this without too much damage? It is where I find my strength when I think about them. It is knowing that I do everything I can to protect them.
” While Cabaye faced a somewhat hostile reception when he returned to St James' Park as a player with Crystal Palace, the welcome was more pleasant when he arrived as part of the PSG party for the 2023 Champions League clash on Tyneside. United fan out 4-1 winners in a memorable night under the lights - but Cabaye had warned his side of the atmosphere that awaited them. Speaking before the game, he said: "I can’t wait to go back.
My colleagues from Paris, they don’t know about the atmosphere and for sure it will be one of the best nights ever in Europe.” Newcastle are in the middle of a Champions League push and fans can watch the big games with Sky Sports' discounted TV bundle. The Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle is now £35 and includes more than 1,000 live matches each season across the Premier League, EFL and more.
£35.
