Martin Dubravka has opened up on how shocked he was to receive online abuse from Newcastle fans after he made the bizarre loan move to Man United last summer.
The goalkeeper joined the Red Devils after Nick Pope arrived on Tyneside as our new number one, but the Slovakian rarely featured for Erik ten Hag, playing just twice in the league cup.
He has since spoken about the ‘offensive’ messages he got from Toon fans following the move, which he felt he did not deserve after ‘always giving my best for the team’.
It’s fair to say Dubravka has been a loyal servant to the side and, at various different points, has played a key role in keeping us up, particularly under Steve Bruce.
However, it seems the messages had gotten so bad that the 33-year-old chose to delete his Twitter account. Any abuse targeted towards him or his family is completely uncalled for and I wouldn’t be surprised if he moves on this summer, with him unlikely to play second fiddle to Nick Pope for another season.
Here’s what Dubravka had to say about the abuse:
“Some of the messages were very harsh. Some of them were very offensive to my family and myself.
“I was thinking, ‘do I deserve this, after five years behind here, trying to do my best for the club?’
“The abuse there [on Twitter], I didn’t expect that. I thought that when I was leaving that I’d always given my best for the club, for the fans.
“They are the best fans and they give a lot to the team, and they want loyalty back from the players. But I’ve been loyal to the club for five years – I stuck with the club through bad times when we really struggled and needed points. I refused to leave at that time when other clubs made offers for me.
“I thought the fans would appreciate that and maybe understand my new situation. I knew David De Gea is a legend, I knew the position I went there in, but I went because there were more competitions and potential games to play. That was the only reason.”
I guess Jesus forgave Judas!
Tony(Quote)
No point in stirring further trouble by these comments,. Time to move on. The real truth is nick pope came and he got very jealous and intimidated so jumped at the chance of becoming a bench chair at manure
He along with the likes of lascelles need to be sold asap so we can continue our next chapter
Mike(Quote)
Just goes to show the mentality of the average (or less than) football fan.
Daveys **** mate(Quote)
Disgusting what some folk put on Twitter … dubravka has a point .. but most fans appreciate his service to Newcastle
Mike(Quote)
He once ignored me in a restaurant when l asked him to sign an autograph to my cat, he wouldn’t buy me a drink either
Ian Cusack(Quote)