Danny Guthrie has revealed he almost changed his mind on the way to completing his £2million transfer to Newcastle United in 2008, but a phone call from Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard convinced him to follow through with the move.
Guthrie, now 39, spent four seasons with the Magpies, making 104 appearances and helping the club win promotion back to the Premier League in the 2009/10 season. His former sides, Liverpool and Newcastle, face each other in their Premier League 2026/27 season opener on Sunday afternoon.
Doubts on the A1
The midfielder, who joined Liverpool's academy from Manchester United in 2002, was a boyhood fan of the club. He confessed last year that his "stomach drop" after agreeing to join Newcastle during his journey up the A1 to sign a four-year contract.
"I just felt my stomach drop," Guthrie told Inside Football. "I was like, 'No, I can't'. I was at my dream club. I was at the best place in the world as far as I was concerned in terms of the team and I was so proud to be a Liverpool player. It just hit me."
Gerrard's advice
Guthrie called his agent to voice his doubts. After being told to stick with the plan and that he would receive a call back, he received a surprise call from Gerrard instead.
He recalled: "The phone started ringing and it wasn't his number (his agent's). It was Stevie G, and he said, 'What's going on?' I went, 'I'm driving up to Newcastle. They have accepted a bid'. He said, 'That's amazing'. I was like, 'I don't know'."
"He said, 'You're mad. That is a proper football club up there. Go up there, establish yourself as your own man, your own player. Go and be the man in someone else's team. Build that confidence. Establish yourself in the Premier League. You never know what the future holds, but don't be somebody who fizzles out at a big club.'
"That was it. As soon as he put the phone down, I went, 'yeah, you're right' and I signed [for Newcastle]."
Career after Newcastle
Guthrie had made just seven appearances for Liverpool in the 2006/07 campaign before his move to St. James' Park. After his stint in the North East, he went on to play for Reading, Fulham, Blackburn Rovers, Indonesian side Mitra Kukar, Walsall and Icelandic club Fram, where he retired in 2022, having helped them earn promotion a year earlier.
