Former Newcastle United star reflects on 'best ever' spell after announcing shock retirement
Davide Santon admitted Newcastle United was ‘the best ever’ club to play at after announcing his surprise retirement at 31.
Santon joined Newcastle from Inter Milan in 2011 and helped the club secure an impressive fifth place finish in his first season. He went on to play 94 times for The Magpies over a three-and-a-half year spell, scoring once.
The eight-time Italian international returned to Inter in 2015 before moving to Roma in 2018. He has now announced his retirement due to injury after failing to play a minute of football during the 2021-22 campaign and subsequently getting released by Roma in the summer.
Looking back on his career, Santon highlighted his time in the North East as a particular high point despite being initially reluctant to join the club.
“I went there. I almost didn’t want to, but once I was there, I didn’t want to return,” Santon told TuttoMercato.
“Then the offer from Inter arrived, and I came back [to Italy], but I had a great time in England. The environment around you, to play, is the best ever.
“Every time I go to England, when I can, I go to the stadium to see it. The Toon Army is fantastic, when we played there, there was an extraordinary serenity.
"When we were playing at home: lunch was optional. The meeting at the stadium was at 1.15pm for the match at 3pm.
"It was an environment that gave me peace of mind and it was the period where I was physically better.”