Alan Shearer has warned Bruno Guimaraes to expect a spicy reception from Newcastle United fans when he returns to St James' Park with Arsenal in November.
Guimaraes joined Arsenal earlier this summer for £75 million after a lengthy transfer saga. While he did not go down the Alexander Isak route of going on strike and publicly slamming the club to force a move to Liverpool, he did make it clear he wanted to leave for the Premier League champions.
Shearer's warning
The 28-year-old was eventually allowed to move on, parting on good terms with United officials. However, according to United icon and Betfair ambassador Shearer, he cannot expect such a cordial response when the Magpies host the Gunners in November.
Shearer said: "I don't think it'll be as bad as Isak (who received a toxic welcome when he returned to St James' Park with Liverpool last weekend), but I don't think it'll be a good reception. Ultimately, Bruno wanted to leave, which is fine. Everyone has their opinion and wants to move clubs at times."
"But he wanted to leave and didn't want to be there any longer. I get that and understand that, but sometimes the fans of your club don't understand that."
Guimaraes' farewell
Guimaraes described leaving Newcastle as the "toughest decision of my life." In a statement on the club website, he said: "When I arrived, the club was in a challenging position and I am incredibly proud of what we achieved together."
"This move is very tough because Newcastle means so much to me, but I wanted to experience something new in my life. I feel ready for a new challenge for myself and my family. I had a very positive conversation with Matthias Jaissle, and I leave knowing the club is in very good hands."
In a farewell video posted on X, he said: "This farewell comes down to differences in ideas. Something that can happen in a relationship as beautiful, as strong and passionate as ours. Sometimes life leads us in a different direction."
Club's stance
Sporting director Ross Wilson insisted the club had no intention of selling Guimaraes, saying: "We didn't want to sell Bruno. It wasn't in the plan to sell Bruno. None of us - or ownership - wanted to sell Bruno."
"He's our captain, he was very, very important to us and the debate over his price - it's a world-record fee for a player of his age. What we had to weigh up was, very respectfully from Bruno, with his behaviour towards us, very emotionally as well, effectively told us he wanted to leave and move on."
