The moment Sean Longstaff was inspired by Ronaldinho shirt & special moment for long serving stars
Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff has been inspired by his uncle Alan Thompson but is now keen to emulate him in Europe
Sean Longstaff admits he has dreamed of playing in Europe since he was a kid after being shown Ronaldinho's shirt at his uncle's house.
It was then that former Newcastle United and Celtic star Alan Thompson, who once scored the winner against Barcelona in the UEFA Cup no less in Europe for the Scottish giants, showed him his shirt collection. Of course, Longstaff is building his own memories in Europe with a well-taken goal against Paris St-Germain at St James' Park but is now enjoying following in Thompson's footsteps.
Longstaff told Chronicle Live: "I remember going around to his house and he’s got Ronaldinho’s top up. "Probably never in a million years did I think I’d be playing in Europe. It’s really special.
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"It’s probably something I haven’t really thought about more, but probably should have. I remember going round his house and seeing the tops, I've seen the Barca goal lots and lots of times."
Longstaff has proved he can cope with the step up in quality since the takeover and even after a £400million spending spree by the new owners, he remains in the starting line-up. With team-mates like Jamaal Lascelles, Joelinton, Fabian Schar, Miguel Almiron and Callum Wilson around him, the club still has a tight-knit group of players in the dressing room.
Longstaff said: "It's amazing. It shows there was a lot of quality before the takeover. The manager has taken the leash off, changed the style, made us more front foot."
Against PSG, Longstaff, Schar and Almiron were all on the scoresheet. The Geordie midfielder said: "Three of the goalscorers against PSG were here before the takeover, which is a massive thing. It was tough in the past but we're past that now and really excited for what's to come."