Argentine winger Jonas Gutíerrez took to Twitter on Saturday to say his goodbyes to his club and its fans, apparently confirming the 30-year-old is set to leave Newcastle United. In his sixth year at the club, “Spiderman” has only made two appearances for Alan Pardew, with that lack of playing time seemingly precipitating his departure.
This season’s sparse usage is a dramatic decline from last year, when Gutíerrez made 34 league appearances for Pardew and the Magpies. In his five seasons since arriving from Real Mallorca, the 22-time Argentina international had never made fewer than 30 league appearances, scoring 10 times in 175 games since the summer of 2008.
Yet after being unable to win time from Moussa Sissoko or Yoan Gouffran this season, Gutíerrez’s time on Tyne appears to be over. Responding to fans who had inquired about his future with the Magpies, Gutíerrez confirmed his impending departure, wishing his former club and teammates luck through the remainder of their 2013-14 campaign:
The Magpies have yet to make any official announcement about the potential departure, but if the Gutíerrez does depart, his most-likely landing spot appears to be the Argentine Primera, where the Torneo Final starts on Feb. 8. His original club, Vélez Sársfield, opens that tournament at Olimpo.
Gutíerrez originally left the Buenos Aries club in the summer of 2005, embarking on a three-season stay at Mallorca. After five goals in 96 La Liga appearances, el gal go moved to United, where he was part of a Football League Championship winning side in 2009-10.
(Note: The first version of this post linked to the incorrect version of Newcastle’s official website, an error corrected after feedback in the comments.)
