Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka has revealed he was furious with manager Eddie Howe during his final weeks at the club at St James’ Park. The Slovakia international left Newcastle for Burnley this summer after seven years with the Magpies, but is set to leave in January 2025. Saudi Professional League club Al-Shabaab made an offer to Dubravka in December 2024, when he was in the final year of his contract. While Howe initially agreed to let Dubravka leave, Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope’s knee injury changed plans.
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The Magpies then agreed he should wait until after the Carabao Cup semi-final against Arsenal on January 7 before leaving, and he traveled to London with his family, who had vacated their house in preparation for the trip to Saudi Arabia. However, Howe convinced him to stay at the end of the winter transfer window but he was dropped from the starting line-up just days after signing a new contract.
“I said goodbye to everyone and then I said goodbye to the manager and he told me he would call me the next day, so I was confused,” Dubravka told The Times.
“The next day I was leaving for Riyadh. When the manager called me he said there was no point in letting you go because it was the semi-final and Nick wasn’t back yet. I said, ‘You said you were going to let me go.’ I was still in a hotel in London. I felt uncomfortable because of the pressure.
“Then Eddie called me and said, ‘No, we can’t let you go now because we need you and we’re going to offer you a new contract.’ “My spirit was already in Saudi Arabia. Our home in Newcastle is empty.
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“I come back on Friday and play against Bromley [in the FA cup third round] the next day. I spoke to the club after the game and they offered me a new contract. You can’t compare the Saudi contract to the Newcastle contract financially, but for me Newcastle will always come first and I’m happy to stay.
“Everything went well, we signed the deal. It was official on Thursday and then on Saturday Eddie ditched me! I wasn’t expecting this because I had just signed a new deal with Newcastle and not one that fully guaranteed my life in Saudi Arabia. I was shocked. We had a conversation after the game and it was not a pleasant conversation.”
