Jonas Gutierrez says lack of offers after leaving Newcastle was down to fears over his illness

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The midfielder was released by the Magpies in the summer of 2015 and found himself unable to stay in England.

Former Newcastle United midfielder Jonas Gutierrez has told Argentine outlet Ole that the lack of interest from English teams in signing him upon his release from the club was due to fears over his illness.

Gutierrez played over 200 games for the Magpies in seven years at the club from 2008 to 2015, and was an integral regular in the side for his first five seasons.

However, the 33-year-old’s career was put on hold in 2013 after his diagnosis with testicular cancer, and he would make just 12 appearances in his final two years at the Magpies after his recovery.

He was released last summer despite proving he still had what it takes to succeed in English football by scoring one and assisting the other as Newcastle secured Premier League survival with a 2-0 win over West Ham on the final day of the 2014-15 season.

Upon his release, he found offers from English clubs hard to come by, and instead ended up moving to Spain with Deportivo La Coruna, before returning home to Argentina this summer.

Now, speaking to Ole, Gutierrez has suggested that the demise of his English career came as a result of clubs being unwilling to take what they saw as a gamble on him, despite his full recovery and return to fitness.

When asked if clubs may have been afraid to take him on because of his history, Gutierrez said: “Yes, for some time. Surely that has happened in England. When I left Newcastle, I did not receive more offers from that country.

“What happened to me maybe gave some teams in Europe fear, the lack of information. OK, they are within their rights. For me it was gone and it was a life experience. Now I am in good health and, for two years, it is just a memory.”

Gutierrez, who won 22 caps for Argentina, is now plying his trade in his home country and could come up against his compatriot and former Newcastle teammate Fabricio Coloccini this weekend when his Defensa side meet the defender’s San Lorezo.