The true reason why Newcastle fans are losing their mind over Alexander Isak | OneFootball

If you’d like to refute that, let’s take a quick look at their record sales:

This is Newcastle’s top five sales EVER. Liverpool will likely give them the total of all these deals COMBINED for Isak and it’s still representing a problem to fans.

And that’s the difference.

The club itself are pissed - and whoever is right about Isak’s late-night Instagram rant is still unclear, though it probably doesn’t matter - but they will almost certainly make the right call and sell a player who is, by far, the biggest asset in the history of Newcastle United.

It’s not even close. Alan Shearer broke the transfer record in 1996 but the next year Ronaldo to Barcelona usurps him and it makes the Shearer deal seem totally obsolete. In the case of Isak this is a prime, in-form talent who could play easily for any club in the world. He is world class. Newcastle haven’t had many (any) of those.

In the midst of all these Saudi millions they were so happy to celebrate, they expected to join the top tier of clubs, one that all these arrivals would embrace and never want to leave. And what they are discovering - something that legitimately big clubs that don’t need Shearer to go to bat for them in public already completely understand - is that there’s a hierarchy.

Real Madrid are at the apex, no matter who you are unless you play for Barcelona or are Luis Figo. Barca themselves despite their financial woes still come next. Then it’s Liverpool, Man City, Bayern, PSG, maybe Arsenal, probably not Chelsea or Manchester United but still above the rest. Then there’s Tottenham and - at a push - Juventus.

Everything else is a tier or more below and Newcastle fans are waking up to this fact. A summer of signing no-one elite, being rejected by numerous suitors, being outbid by supposedly ‘weaker teams’, and wearing a PSR restriction as a badge of honour.

And now Isak. They’ve never had an Isak. He is, and maybe will always be, the player at his maximum value in the transfer market while playing at St James’ Park.

United have Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool Luis Suarez, Fernando Torres, Philippe Coutinho, Arsenal have Cesc Fabregas, Thierry Henry. Chelsea have Arjen Robben, Eden Hazard. Tottenham have Gareth Bale, Harry Kane. Hell, even Aston Villa have Jack Grealish.

Clubs themselves ultimately understand when a player wants to leave and the order of things. Newcastle’s recent history of signings pre-Saudi is so filled with garbage that no player was able to become close to Isak.

But now he’s doing what every player on the list above - absolutely, bona-fide, 21st century superstars, most if not all of them - did to their clubs; demanded to leave. Bigger clubs than Newcastle.

This is what happens and it’s time to understand that despite some dirty money, there’s still a career that players map out. And most of them don’t include Newcastle as a stop.