His signing was seen as part of Newcastle United's fall from a European force to Premier League also-rans under Graeme Souness. And Celestine Babayaro admits he didn't help himself with life at St James' park.

Back in January 2005, the left-back joined the Magpies in a £1million move from Chelsea, where he had been part of a Premier League title-challenging side under enigmatic manager Jose Mourinho. It was a bold move by United, who were keen to strengthen their ranks after a dismal first half of the season.

Souness had taken over after Sir Bobby Robson's sacking, but was struggling to get a tune out of a side that had been pushing for Champions League places the previous three seasons. In the January transfer window, he opted to strengthen his squad with a trio of big-moey moves which ultimately all flopped.

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Jean-Alain Boumsong became the most high-profile of the three after an £8.5m move from Rangers turned into a disaster, while Amdy Faye also failed to shine on Tyneside. Babayaro was arguably the most successful of the three, but still won't go down well in history with the Magpies after just 47 appearances for the club.

However, the Nigerian star has revealed that his cause wasn't helped by a silly error of judgement after accepting a classy gesture from his old manager Mourinho when Chelsea came to St James' in May 2025, having already won the Premier League title a week earlier.

"I spent a decent amount of time working under Jose at Chelsea," said Babayaro. "When he arrived in 2004, he changed my world in football. Prior to him, I'd worked under Ruud Gullit, the late Gianluca Vialli and Claudio Ranieri, but Jose came with things that I've never seen in football before.

"Before we played against, for example, Liverpool or Manchester United, we all had notes on our chairs - detailed notes against our idividual opponents, and how we were to play against them. I'd never seen anything like it before. He just came in with a whole different idea on the sport, which amazed everyone.

"When I think of standout memories with Jose, I actually think about my move to Newcastle, and how he still played a part in my career, despite me not playing for the club anymore. So, I signed for Newcastle in January 2005, and we played Chelsea, who were champions, on the last day of the season, at home. Because they'd already won the league, we had to head out of the tunnel first and give them a guard of honour, which is obviously what you do for the champions.

"I was in the tunnel with my Newcastle teammates, and Jose tapped me on the shoulder. He said: "Celestine, you know you won the league with us? I know you're a Newcastle player now, but can you walk out with the lads?"

"Up until that moment, I didn't think for a second about it. It was only when Jose tapped me that I decided to do it, and my God, I got so much stick for doing that. I did it because he asked me to!

"So, I joined the Chelsea line-up and walked out with them. My teammates went out, did the guard of honour, and the fans are out there, looking at the Chelsea team, and I'm a part of it - oh my God, I did not have a good time after that match!"

Babayaro often endured a fractious relationship with Newcastle supporters, but stayed at the club for almost three years until his contract was terminated in December 2007 after issues with injuries and the player's perceived poor attitude and commitment. However, the defender says things did improve briefly at the club for him under Glenn Roeder's management after he showed his commitment following the death of his brother David from tuberculosis in the early part of 2007.

"To be honest, it's something which stuck with me for a while, in terms of my relationship with the club, and the fans," added Babayaro, speaking at the launch of Ladbrokes' Gaffer of all Accas.

"A couple of years later, I had a situation where my younger brother passed away, and I played a game for Newcastle the next day, after he passed. I actually think it was one of my best games - against Liverpool - and I'm not sure whether it was because of my brother's passing, or whatever, but it was only really in that moment that I felt like I'd won the supporters back over. Because of the way I'd put in a shift in that game, I think I was forgiven! I'm sure they appreciated that act, and it got me off the hook with them."