Former Newcastle United player explains secret 'deal' at club – and reveals why he went on strike

Cabaye refused to play for the club at the start of the 2013/14 season in an attempt to force through a move to Arsenal.

The midfielder, signed from Lille in 2011, had been a revelation in his first two seasons at St James’s Park – and the club, which had appointed Joe Kinnear as director of football that summer, would not discuss a move when a £10million bid was tabled by Arsene Wenger on the eve of the campaign.

"The deal (when I signed for Newcastle) was ‘OK, you come and we’ll see how you adapt. The English market can be quick, and if there’s something, we’ll sit and have a chat’,” Cabaye told FourFourTwo.

"So, OK, that’s fine. It was the first time I was leaving a club, moving from Lille to Newcastle, so I didn’t know about transfers.

"The fact is, the first season was really good, and after that there was Euro 2012, of course, which went well for me.

"Then there was Arsenal’s interest, and what I didn’t understand was that the club closed the door on it – they didn’t want to have a discussion."

"I asked why, and the answer failed to convince me. I asked them to speak (with Arsenal) and try to come up with a better solution. If there’s no solution, I can understand that, and I’m happy at Newcastle.

"But I wanted to play for a club with that standard, with all due respect to Newcastle. In the end, they didn’t want to, and that’s life. That was their choice."

Cabaye refused to play for Newcastle, then managed by Alan Pardew, against West Ham United to “express his disagreement”, a move he now admits was wrong.

“It (going on strike) was a way to express my disagreement – but today, of course, I can say that it wasn’t the right way,” said Cabaye, who went on to join Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in January 2014.

"After that, I think I showed to everyone that I was fully committed to Newcastle, 100%, and there weren’t any problems at all."

Cabaye – who was later reunited with Pardew at Crystal Palace – rejoined PSG in an off-the-field role after retiring in early 2021.