Sandro Tonali finally breaks silence on “special” visit to Wetherspoons

Sandro Tonali has finally explained how he ended up in Wetherspoons after his Newcastle debut.

This summer Tonali completed a £55million transfer from AC Milan to Newcastle, putting pen to paper on a five-year contract at St James’ Park.

And the 23-year-old appeared to be embracing his new life in England when he was spotted at The Job Gulman in Gosforth, Newcastle, after helping Eddie Howe’s side to a 5-1 win over Aston Villa last month.

Indeed, Tonali’s Wetherspoons appearance left many fans convinced he must have been pranked by one of his new teammates.

But lifting the lid on his pub trip, the midfielder said: "After the game against Villa I had asked people about places and restaurants to spend a night with my family.

"I didn’t receive the answer I was expecting. I spent the night in a pub in my city.

"You don’t usually go to the pub with family but it was a special night! Fun!"

Meanwhile, speaking on Tonali’s Wetherspoons visit, Dan Burn said: "People think we stitched him up but I genuinely think he just booked it.

"He must have typed in ‘restaurants in Gosforth’ and Wetherspoons has popped up. With him not knowing any different he’s booked it.

"The next day we were like, ‘Wetherspoons? What are you doing there?’ But he said he enjoyed it!"

Of course, Tonali returns to Milan on Tuesday evening as Newcastle mark their return to the Champions League group stage for the first time in two decades.

Newcastle have been drawn in a so-called ‘group of death’ alongside Milan, Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund in Group F.

A win in their Champions League opener in Italy would be a statement from Newcastle.

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Topics: Football, Sandro Tonali, Newcastle United, AC Milan, Premier League

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.